Re:Broken Gears
by NvInfinitium
Summary: After making a mistake in chasing after Jinx, Caitlyn finds herself in a problematic situation with her world spiraling out of her control. However, what if the mistake turns into an opportunity for her to find out what made Jinx into the insane criminal she seems to be. Can she take this new found information and repair the broken gears of Jinx's mind? Revision of Broken Gears.
1. Chapter 1: Cat and Mouse

**Re:Broken Gears**

 **Chapter 1: Cat and Mouse**

* * *

Caitlyn let out a heavy, weary sigh as she saw yet another random, inconspicuous civilian pass her cruiser.

The Sheriff of Piltover was on a solo patrol, the first one in a long while, and the boredom was finally starting to drain her to the point of exhaustion.

She had never really been one to handle idleness well, and unfortunately this solo patrol is a void full of it. She just wishes her partner was able to be here with her like she would usually be.

After all, Vi always made things a tad bit livelier with her ridiculous, yet in all honesty, amusing antics. And when she did, Caitlyn, for her part, would always entertain herself by seeing how long she could withstand not chastising the bruiser for said antics.

It was an admittedly pretty odd, but fairly functional, system for the two of them. Over the few years they've known each other, it has kept them sane on the drearily long patrols, especially on the completely unproductive ones.

But sadly for her, it was not the case for today, as Vi _wasn't_ here to make things entertaining and to fulfill their system.

No, today called for some alterations to the duo's usual patrol session, much to Caitlyn's displeasure.

Today, crime was unusually high in one of the financial districts, presumably as a result of a rising group of bank robbers making their mark. However, all the while, there were also some sightings of Jinx, the city's most infamous, in this district that Caitlyn is currently patrolling.

So as such, the duo commonly known as Piltover's Finest was forced to split apart in order to cover both districts and aid their fellow subordinating officers in each.

Caitlyn, for her share, had taken to this merchant street in lower Piltover, knowing it was probably safer for the city to have her watch for the terrorist rather than her volatile, and easily perturbed partner; while Vi went to the financial district in an attempt to catch the robbers in the act.

In her eyes, Caitlyn had found the split to be fairly reasonable at the time. Vi would be a great deal of aid to their subordinates in the area with her combat skill if any conflict were to erupt with the robbers. And likewise, Caitlyn would use her own officers and her experienced tracking skills to watch for, and potentially catch Jinx. Overall, the split would be a win-win situation for both parties.

However, what Caitlyn hadn't anticipated was how damn _boring_ a solo patrol could be. Or rather, she merely forgot how boring it would be.

She sighed once again and placed a hand on her brow in utter annoyance.

"I knew I should have at least taken a recruit with me in this car…" She murmured to herself, thinking out loud. "I could've instructed them, instead of sitting here alone gazing at _nothing_ for hours. But no, I had to send them all out in the field. Brilliant idea Caitlyn..."

Caitlyn removed her hand from her face to return her gaze to the daily commute of the lower district's citizens. She had seen nothing out of the ordinary so far, so she just watched on as the people moved along, living their lives.

 _I suppose it at least beats paperwork_ , she thought idly.

Contrary to any popular belief of the kind, Caitlyn actually hated paperwork. It was a hell to go through and was even worse when Vi put her own off, and Caitlyn had to do it for her.

Honestly, Caitlyn absolutely loathed having to go through Vi's unkept documents, as well as all the complaints filed with them. It was tedious, irritating, and if she had to see another 'formal letter' about the bruiser's excessive actions regarding a certain blue-haired criminal's rampages, she would lose her mind.

...Oh, speaking of which, Caitlyn wondered why she hasn't heard anything Jinx related yet. If the reports were true-which she assumed they were, seeing as most of the kind were-Jinx should be somewhere in this district.

But if that's so, then why is everything so... _peaceful_?

It wasn't in Jinx's nature to be quiet. No, she always preferred to be _obnoxiously_ loud. So, if that is the case, why is there no chaos, no explosions, no destruction, no _anything_?

It just made no sense.

"Where is she?" Caitlyn muttered, frowning. She reexamined the crowd with extra scrutiny, searching for any out of the ordinary. But still, she found _nothing_.

Letting out a sigh, she decided to move on and check other parts of the district. Jinx had to be here, somewhere…

Powering up her cruiser, she waited for a married couple to move past the street to drive off. However, just as they passed, she managed to catch something unusual out the corner of her eyes.

It was a cloaked figure buying something from one of the outdoor street vendors. And while that wasn't too alarming in itself, Caitlyn went wide-eyed as the figure turned slightly, revealing its face.

It was pale and smiling and framed by two infamous violet orbs.

"Jinx…" Caitlyn growled out as her own eyes narrowed.

 _So the reports were true. But what is Jinx doing here...buying...bread? She mostly destroys the richer districts, never any of the poor or middle-class areas. And she definitely doesn't come down here to buy groceries...or does she?_

Caitlyn was truly perplexed at seeing the criminal here doing something so...common, especially outside her usual sightings. But as a moment passed, she realized that the 'why' is not so important right now.

No, what is actually important right now is figuring out what she is going to do next. However, she found herself in a dilemma trying to do so.

Although typical protocol required her to call in for backup for a major and/or dangerous criminal, several factors made her hesitant to believe it to be the correct response to this situation.

For one, backup meant both inexperienced recruits and Vi.

She couldn't trust the recruits with the capture of the city's most infamous, and Vi, when faced with Jinx, meant massive, unnecessary property damage simply from the enforcer's chase. Caitlyn _really_ did not feel like dealing with either and especially not more paperwork.

Also, for two, this was a good chance to trail Jinx to her hideout. If the bread was any indicator at all, Jinx most likely made her dwelling nearby, giving Caitlyn a general location already. In addition, it seemed that Jinx didn't even notice Caitlyn, as the criminal made no indication when she glanced in her direction.

All in all, it was the perfect opportunity.

As long as she remained silent and subtle, Caitlyn could easily trail Jinx and discover her base of operations, and later, return with a strike force to arrest the criminal unsuspectingly.

It sounded like the better choice to her, so after a moment's delay, she exited her cruiser, taking her iconic hat and rifle off the passenger seat to bring along with her.

Once out of her vehicle, she cautiously glanced over to see if Jinx still hadn't noticed her. To her relief, such was still the case, but Jinx was beginning to leave the bread vendor. If she didn't hurry, she'd lose the trail.

Silently, she starting making her way over to Jinx's location, politely excusing herself as she pushed past several pedestrians barring her path. When she finally got over to the bread stand, she found Jinx entering a nearby alleyway.

Frowning to herself, she paused at the entrance, wondering if she should continue. After all, it would be extremely risky to do so at this point, as Jinx would merely have to turn her head to notice the trailing Sheriff.

However, after reminding herself of the potential information she could gain, she decided that the reward was worth the risk and pressed on, following Jinx into the alleyway.

* * *

After several minutes of trailing, Caitlyn began to wonder if Jinx herself knew where she was going; because for Caitlyn, it really seemed like the criminal had no clue whatsoever.

Jinx merely skipped around, giggling to herself as if she hadn't a care in the world. As such, she made several mistakes, not paying any attention to her surroundings, and ran into numerous dead ends and crowded streets.

It had caused quite a lot of close encounters for the trailing Sheriff actually, as Jinx would often quickly turn around to navigate from her mistaken paths. Luckily, she hadn't spotted the quick responding Sheriff yet, but Caitlyn wondered how much longer she could keep things up.

After all, all it would take was one slip up, one moment where she can't hide in time, for Jinx to catch her, and then it would be all over.

 _No_ , she thought, silencing her doubts. She can't think about failing right now. She just has to stay determined to succeed in finally capturing Jinx, and remain patient and cautious in her endeavor. Shaking her head, she returned her focus to her target.

But with Jinx turning into another street, Caitlyn sidetracked again, as she idly noticed something odd: no one was taking much notice of Jinx's presence.

Caitlyn had first assumed that the cloak merely threw them off from identifying her, but the hood of it had been thrown off by the wind a while ago. There should be no reason as to why the people of this district couldn't recognize her.

So then...why was no one scared, or angry, or…anything out of the usual? They were acting like this was all normal, like Jinx wasn't a _wanted terrorist_ casually walking down the street.

She narrowed her eyes at the realization that these people seemed to be...protecting Jinx. But why were they, is what Caitlyn wanted to know.

What did they have to gain from protecting such an individual? Caitlyn needed to know, but she couldn't mull over it or pull aside a person for questioning. She simply didn't have the time, as Jinx was already skipping along into another alleyway.

But she made a mental note to get to the bottom of it, right as soon as Jinx was secured in a jail cell. After all, she couldn't just let this level of corruption persist in her city.

Clearing her thoughts, she continued to follow the bluenette into the alleyway.

However, out of nowhere, Jinx suddenly quickened her pace, dashing through the alley before turning around a corner into a split branch. Caitlyn frowned to herself as she wondered why the girl would take such a rapid change in speed, but continued deeper into the alley, matching pace as silently as possible.

But as she entered the split off, she instantly identified that it was a dead end and that Jinx was nowhere in sight…

She had been tricked.

Alarm overtook the Sheriff, and she reached behind her to take her rifle out its harness. It was in her ready hands within seconds, and her eyes darted around as she scanned the alleyway, looking behind trash bags and the receptacle for Jinx. Scowling, she cautiously walked over to the receptacle, knowing that Jinx could possibly be hiding within.

Balancing her gun on her hip, with one gloved hand rested on its trigger, she readied her other hand to open the lid. Stilling her breath, she started a mental countdown to prepare herself.

 _3…_

 _2…_

 _1…_

With a sudden start, she swung open the lid, and instantly returned her hand to her gun, raising it to fire. However, her eyes worked before her hands did, and noticed that nothing was inside. Calming herself and setting her gun down, she further examined the dumpster, but still found nothing out of the ordinary.

Confused and agitated, she backed away from the receptacle, wondering where the hell Jinx could've gone. But as familiar cackling resounded somewhere above her, she dreadfully realized her mistake: she didn't check upwards first.

"Sorry, Hat lady, but this cat and mouse game is starting to get a lil' boring. So I'm gonna have to end things here. See ya!"

Hearing the criminal's shout, she looked up to find Jinx perched high up on a fire escape above her. She acted fast and took aim with her rifle, crosshairs lining up right on Jinx's torso. However, it was as if time slowed for her, and before she could pull the trigger, Jinx fired first with her infamous rocket launcher taken out from under her cloak.

The rocket hit its mark against the building opposite of her, and the resulting debris instantly started to rain down upon the surprised Sheriff.

Fear seized her as she realized that she had no possible means of escape with how the majority of the debris was falling near the entrance, and she dropped her gun, stumbling back near the rear of the alleyway.

However, nowhere was safe for the Sheriff, and as more debris fell, she cowered into a protective ball in hopes of protecting her head and vital organs. But sadly, while the shell seemed to withstand the assault, the pathetic shielding did little to protect her from the excruciating pain of the debris colliding against her frame.

It caused her to let out an involuntary, agonizing wail, and blank out for a moment as the dust settled. But once she came to, a moment after, she was fully reminded of the immense pressure and pain.

The soul wrenching agony was more extreme than anything she had ever felt before, and it led her to believe she was in the process of dying. After all, it sure as hell seemed like she was. Especially so with the warm pooling liquid growing beneath her abdomen.

 _...So...is this it?_

 _...is this how I die?_

 _Bleeding out after being idiotic enough to chase after Jinx without backup, and without realizing that she was leading me into a trap all along? It's such a horribly cruel end…_

She was bitter as she lied underneath the rubble. Her breathing was getting shallow, and she realized her body was starting to enter shock, as everything began to feel numb. With her slowly losing blood by the second, if she were to enter shock now, she would surely perish being unattended to.

She needs to stay conscious and find help from somewhere, anywhere, before she bled out. But how could she?

All her recruits were blissfully unaware of the fact that she had taken off on her foolhardy pursuit and were still searching for Jinx elsewhere. And as for Vi, she was in a different district entirely.

No, there is no way of contacting anyone.

Breathing heavy and unsteady, she lied there, desperately thinking of ways to save herself. But each passing thought proved fruitless and impossible, further panicking her. And with her body starting to fail, growing numb and colder as time passed, she felt hopeless.

She really has no option, has she?

 _...This is actually it. I'm going to die…_

She whimpered softly as her grave reality finally set in. It is one thing to know that you are dying, but it is an entirely different thing to be completely helpless in preventing it. It was especially terrible to her knowing that no one was coming to her rescue.

She was just stuck here…left for death to claim her…

…

…

"Yo, Cait."

…

 _What?!_

Caitlyn stilled her breath and tears at the sudden sound. Her mind instantly forgot the fear and hopelessness it had been plagued with a moment before, and swapped gears to find out where the voice- _her partner's voice_ -came from.

Her pocket, she deduced seconds later. Vi's voice came from the pocket on her belt.

"We finally finished things out here and are going for lunch. How are things going over there? You see her at all?" she heard Vi speak. "Cait? You there?"

 _Yes. Yes! I'm here Vi._

She realized that Vi was speaking to her through the small radio transmitter on her hip and that the small device was still intact despite the rubble on top of her.

It somewhat amazed her that it had withstood the impact of the debris, but she ignored the thought for now. Right now, she needs to focus and get to the device immediately to alert her partner to her plight.

It was located on her right hip, so all that was required was a simple reach with her right arm to press the broadcast button on it, and then call for aid.

But as she tried to reach it, she found her arm to be unresponsive. It had sent a tremendous surge of agony, accompanied by a gasp and black dots dancing over her eyes-through her to even use it slightly, telling her that something was very wrong. But she realized why immediately.

She had covered herself with her right side when the bricks came crashing down. As a result, her right arm was disabled, and most likely broken. Whether it is permanently out of commission or not stands to be seen, but she definitely cannot use it right now.

She will just have to reach over with her left hand now. That is, if she is even capable to still do so, for there is a very real chance she cannot.

Hoping like she had never hoped before, she attempted to shift her left arm to test it.

Thankfully, as she twitched her fingers and flexed her muscles she found it to be fully functional. With that reassurance, she navigated it through the tight space around her and reached for the device.

However, black dots were increasing in her vision, threatening against any action. She hadn't much longer before the blood loss and stress consumed her conscious. She needed to get a message through now before it is too late.

Focusing her resolve, she grabbed her radio and pressed the transmit button.

A small beeping noise sounded out, and her partner's voice came through, relieving the desperate Sheriff.

"Caitlyn? Is that you? What's going on? What took you so long to pick up?" came her partner's somewhat annoyed questions.

"V-Vi...need help...Jinx trap...please _come_ ," Caitlyn weakly murmured, her voice starting to die along with her consciousness. She hoped that she had been loud enough to be picked up, otherwise all her efforts would all be in vain as she did not have the energy within her to speak again.

"Caitlyn?! A trap?! What happened? Where are you?!" Vi responded, now equally alarmed and distressed.

She did it. She got through. Weakly smiling, she lost hold of the device, dropping it into a crevice of debris.

"Never mind, I'll track your location. Just hold on, I'm coming to you Cupcake! Stay on the line, and I'll be there in a few minutes!" She heard Vi continue to speak.

However, the Sheriff could not reply, nor heed Vi's request, as her vision was already rapidly fading. She was content, however, smiling as she knew that she would be fine. She was more than confident that her partner would be able to save her in time.

But right as she went into the good night, she saw something and could swear it was some light cracking through the debris and violet eyes gazing down at her…

* * *

 **Welcome to Broken Gears Remastered, or simply Re:Broken Gears.**

 **This is a remastered version of one of my best stories, Broken Gears. One that will hopefully hit every single point that I missed last time, and will fully flesh out the story. Unlike with the original Broken Gears, I now have experience in writing and with it, I seek to perfect this story so that I may look back on it and feel happy with what I created.**

 **So as such, if you are a previous reader of mine, you will find that this story goes deeper into the plot, reveals much more of the setting, and showcases better, more emotional characters. Most importantly, I will do my best to make the characters unique from each other with actual personalities of their own. Basically speaking, the story will not only be retold but in essence, recreated.**

 **As for those of you who are new, this is a adventure/redemption story, that focuses on a Caitlyn and Jinx romantic relationship. It will cover some more mature themes such as implications of rape, strong language, implications of sex, etc. so if you are uncomfortable with any of those themes, I would not advise you to go further with this story. I do not feel any of them are covered so heavily that a M+ rating would be necessary, but I feel a warning is still fair.**

 **Anyways, if you happen to enjoy the story, please make sure to favorite/follow and leave a review.**

 **Each and every sign of participation (especially in depth reviews, I love those) shows to me how much you guys care about the story and my writing and inspire me to write better and more often, so I would truly appreciate if you took the time to do so. Even if you are new to it, and have little more to say than "Great chapter", it stills means a lot to me, and I will take the time to read it just like the rest.**

 **At any rate, with all that said, I would like to welcome you all to the story, and I hope you all enjoy it.**

* * *

 **Oh, in addition, I will be trying for a weekly update with this story (to those who have followed my works in the past, it's a surprise, I know), and will attempt to get a chapter out every Tuesday/Wednesday. So stay tuned, and thanks as always to my beta reader, Lux Du Couteau for helping me with this.**


	2. Chapter 2: Awakening

**Re:Broken Gears**

 **Chapter 2: Awakening**

* * *

Jinx messed up. Completely and utterly _messed up_.

And now the Sheriff of Piltover was almost literally six feet under as a result...

"Don't be dead, don't be dead. _Please_ don't be dead, Hat Lady!" She muttered nervously as she shoved some more bricks away.

As soon as the debris had fallen on top of the Sheriff, she had jumped down from her perch to remove the bricks and hoped that the Sheriff was still alive underneath.

See, contrary to what might be popular belief, she didn't actually want to see Caitlyn dead. The Sheriff was fun to toy with, and if she were to die, Jinx would be stuck with only Fat Hands to annoy, and that would be no fun at all.

Well, maybe a little, but good ol' Fat Hands was never a real challenge for her. She could duck and dodge Vi's gigantic gauntlets easily, without even breaking a sweat.

But Hat Lady was different. The Sheriff was more difficult competition, where Jinx actually had to actively focus to win their bouts. Plus, with the countless times the two had fought each other out on the Fields of Justice, they had gained a mutual understanding between each other.

It was a game of skill and wit, where neither side truly won. Sure, such was not the case on the Summoners' battlefields where one of them _had to_ win, but outside of them, conditions were much different and they couldn't ever get ahead of the other. Jinx couldn't beat Caitlyn's intelligence and resourcefulness, but likewise, Caitlyn couldn't keep up with Jinx's sheer speed and endurance.

All in all, it was just a fun relationship that Jinx enjoyed. No one else gave her a rush like the Sheriff did. No one else _seemed_ _to be able to_ give her such a rush.

So as such, she really hoped Caitlyn was alive...

* * *

After several long minutes of digging, Jinx had found her. Caitlyn was alive, but in _terrible_ shape.

Her right arm had been bent into quite painful looking positions, obviously broke, and was cut in several areas from the shards of glass of a window hit in the explosion. It appeared that her right leg was similarly damaged in the form of broken bones and shallow cuts as well.

However, what concerned Jinx was the Sheriff's abdomen. When Jinx had lifted Caitlyn dress, (with completely innocent intent, of course) she found Caitlyn's upper chest bruised and bloodied from the debris raining on her. She had to have gotten several ribs fractured in the incident at the very least.

But while that in itself was problematic, what was most worrisome was the massive gaping wound stretching across Caitlyn lower abdomen. A broken section of rebar had cut deep into her, just barely missing impalement, and after Jinx had pulled the Sheriff out of the rubble, the wound had started to free flow.

While it was surprisingly somewhat shallow, the wound was still long and significant enough to slowly kill her given time.

And while Jinx had the equipment and ability needed to patch up Caitlyn's wounds (she hasn't made it this long as a wanted criminal _without_ knowing how to patch up the occasional bullet wound or a broken bone), the problem lied in the fact that she had to lift the Sheriff and delicately carry Caitlyn to her home.

And although her home wasn't that far away-almost literally around the corner-there are several stairs barring her from any medical supplies. As such, it will be quite a difficult effort to patch up the Sheriff.

But as she sighed to herself, she picked up the Sheriff anyways, being as careful as possible, and begun her journey.

Upon lifting her, Jinx had been moderately surprised at how light Caitlyn was, but she quickly pushed the thought aside and moved onwards.

"You better be glad I care enough to save you, Hat Lady. I could've easily left you there, you know," Jinx muttered to her unconscious companion as she glanced at her. Caitlyn's face was fairly unharmed, save for a small bleeding cut lining her forehead. And for some reason, she seemed rather serene in her unconscious state.

Staring at the woman for a moment longer, Jinx became somewhat uncomfortable. She had no clue as to why she felt so, but she quickly shook her head to clear her thoughts and returned her focus to getting the Sheriff to her home.

"Alright, let's get you patched up now, shall we?..."

* * *

Caitlyn awoke up to a splitting headache and a dim room.

And instantly, she was aware of something being wrong.

As she gave a quick glance around, it became alarmingly clear that wherever she is, it isn't a hospital or even a room in Vi's home or her own manor. No, it was somewhere elsewhere, some place she _shouldn't_ _be_ if she had been rescued by Vi.

But as such, does that mean that Vi didn't rescue her...?

She fears that the thought might not be far from the truth...

Shaking her head-only to be reminded of the horrible headache coursing through her-she pushed her thoughts and concerns to the side. She has more pressing matters to consider at the moment.

Matters being damage control.

First things first, she needs to check the extent of her injuries. After all, there was no possible way she managed to live through all that debris falling on top of her without even a scratch.

Attempting to sit up slightly to get a better view, she instantly fell back down with a groan as a surge of pain ripped through the upper right side of her chest.

 _Right, bad idea. Some ribs are most definitely broken_.

Sighing, she decided to take a different approach and looked down with her head as much as she could with its limited movement.

Able to get a decent enough view of her body, she found herself covered in red tinged bandages. In addition, her outfit was gone, replaced with only the bandages to cover her breasts, and plain shorts to clothe her.

Idly, she wondered if she should be bothered about how exposed she was. Especially considering how someone had to have undressed her to patch her up, and undoubtedly saw her in the nude. But after a brief moment, she let the thought pass. This wasn't particularly a time or place for modesty after all.

Moving on, she decided to do a more in depth check to get an accurate read on her situation.

 _First things first, limbs check_.

She had immediately noticed from her initial glance that she had all four limbs, much to her relief, but found the right side to be in a significantly worse condition than her left.

Her right arm was the most injured and was placed in some form of makeshift cast, delicately set as to not disturb her battered chest, but still remain properly supported.

Deciding to test it, she slightly tensed it to get a feel of what was broken and bruised. And as pain flared through it, she was able to determine that her wrist and most of her forearm were likely broken. In addition, she determined that her upper arm was relatively fine, if not a bit bruised in several sections.

Now onto her right leg. While nowhere near the severity of her respective arm, her leg and hip were still quite bruised, with black and blue colored throughout her flesh. But at least there were no broken bones from what she could tell.

Luckily though, as she noted before, the injuries were mostly limited to the right side of her body, with her left side being relatively flawless, save for a small bruise here and there. At very least, it was quite a relief to be able to move one arm and leg.

However, it was now time for the most dreadful section of her examination.

 _Her chest._

Using her free hand, she slowly and carefully poked around her bandages to get a feel of things. Upon doing so, she came to the knowledge that the real damage didn't actually start until her lower chest. Much of upper torso seemed to only be bandaged for decency's sake and was only, at worse, sore in some areas.

But as she moved further down, she noticed that about two of her lower right side ribs were fractured. She supposed they weren't in too bad a condition considering they weren't collapsed or threatening her organs, but they didn't feel very fun either.

However, when she finally came across the last and lowest bandage, a long, blood soaked strip just above her navel, her moderate concern grew dramatically. She felt along the wound underneath the strip with her hand, softly and carefully moving about her abdomen to see just how long it was, and the results disturbed her.

Nearly spanning her waist horizontally, she realized that the wound was a horrible, significant one. One that would definitely scar her both physically and _mentally_ , likely haunting her with her nearly fatal mistakes for years to come. After all, something that large would always be a reminder to her. She wouldn't be able to _not_ see it a reminder of her failure...

She shook her head (once again agitating her migraine). She can't focus on such thoughts. They would do nothing but make her depressed.

"I suppose that all in all, things could have been worse," She murmured with a sigh.

"Hell, had whatever it was that had caused this navel wound struck just a few more inches inwardly, things definitely would have been much worse. I should be counting my lucky stars that I'm alive in all honestly..."

Funnily enough, though, she doesn't really feel particularly lucky at the moment. No, far from it.

Beyond the lasting scars she would have, mocking her for her moment of incompetence, she knew that she would be out of commission for several weeks as she recovered. And that meant there would not be a Sheriff to keep order in Piltover for that time.

As such, criminals would be bolder and more dangerous, knowing that she wasn't around to stop them. The crime rate would go up, city wide problems would erupt, and Piltover as a whole would be worse for wear.

And to make matters worst, she is at the whim of whoever had taken the time to mend her. While they obviously sought to keep her alive, they could prove to be malevolent and have ill desires for her; and at the moment, she is in no condition to fend off anyone should her situation turn hostile.

Groaning in frustration, she closed her eyes and put her only functional hand on her face.

She then proceeded to smack herself for being so stupid and placing herself in such a dire, hopeless situation, only to receive a dull throbbing pain in return.

Idly, she realized that she must have gotten a concussion, as she now noticed bandages around her forehead. That would explain all the harsh throbbing...

" _..._ Excellent work, Caitlyn. Not only did you almost get yourself killed, you placed yourself into a situation that you have completely no control over," she muttered, chastising herself.

"Ugh, even Vi would have known better than chasing after Jinx like that!"

 _Wait_...she thought, pausing her rant to reflect on what she just said.

"Well...maybe not. But still, I don't even have Vi's gauntlets or nearly the same stature to defend myself like Vi could have. What was I thinking?! Now look at where I am. Alone, injured, and in some...house?"

With a sigh, she realized that she still doesn't even know where the hell she is. Deciding to end her tirade, she began looking around to learn her surroundings.

From what she gathered, she is in an average bedroom, evident by the fairly large bed she is lying in. Directly across from her is an oaken door to...somewhere, armed with some form of device on its handle. Curious as to what it is, she stared at it in an attempt to identify it. And after a moment's pass, she came to a realization.

"Wait...is that...a lock? Really?"

She was somewhat dumbfounded by the appearance of the lock, finding it extremely unnecessary. Was her captor really so nervous that they felt it was needed? Even with her being bedridden for likely several weeks? If so, that either meant they were really paranoid, or...intending to keep her here for much longer than she needs.

The latter is a scary, sobering thought, but can definitely be a possible reality. As such, she really hopes it is just the former...

Pushing her fears away, she returned to her observations to distract her mind.

To her right, along the west wall of the room, she found the room's source of light in the form of a large window, with a moderate sized dresser underneath it. The window had a decent view of Piltover's skyline, but offered no real distinguishing feature. For all she knows, she is still somewhere deep in lower Piltover, far from her friends and family.

In addition, the window seemed to have no method of opening, virtually eliminating any possible form of escape.

Between the door lock and now this unopenable window, it was quickly becoming painfully clear to her that she was much less a visitor here, and more so a prisoner.

That wasn't a cheerful thought. Not in the slightest.

Deciding to finish her observation, she glanced over to her left, finding a small nightstand next to her bed, and a desk further away. The desk, for its part, was fairly plain. It seemed to hold nothing worth value, and as such, she quickly glanced over it.

However, in stark contrast, the nightstand held several items on top. Beyond a small night lamp, she found a couple of objects resting on it: a large glass of water, a wrapped up sandwich, a small book, and a single letter. Frowning, she picked up the letter and read it, wondering what was written on it, and hoping to gain some understanding from it.

" _Hey there, Hat Lady!_

 _If you're reading this, then you're finally up. Great!_

 _And if not, uh...wake up already? It's been like two days now, and I'm getting bored. Plus, I'm not really equipped to take care of you if you slip into a coma, so yeah, don't do that._

 _Wait, if you reading this then you are obviously awake…_

 _Ugh, just...just ignore that last part. I don't have an eraser nearby and I'm to lazy to get one._

 _Anyways, I made this letter because I'm most likely out for a match (the summoners really have me booked lately), and can't see you personally right now. But I'll be by later to check in on you and stuff, so hold tight._

 _Oh, for now, though, I left you some water, that sandwich in case you're hungry, and a book to keep yourself from being bored. (You like fantasy novels, right? It was the only book I had, so hopefully you do.)_

 _All that should keep you going until I get back, so just relax and enjoy yourself for now. Oh and don't move too much! I did my best to keep you from bleeding out over yourself, so don't go messing up your injuries more!_

 _-Jinx"_

Caitlyn scowled as she reached the end of the letter and saw the infamous, messy signature of the criminal.

So it really was Jinx who saved her. Caitlyn had been wondering since she awoke if such was the case, but she had truly had hoped she was wrong. But this letter completely proves it: Jinx had 'rescued' her.

But _why?_

Caitlyn just didn't understand.

Not only would it have been much simpler, and less costly, resource-wise, for Jinx to just let Caitlyn die, but it would have made much more sense.

Jinx would have ridded herself of a major threat in the Sheriff and would be able to take advantage of the city-wide confusion and grief following Caitlyn's death to cause massive, widespread havoc in the city. It would have been such a perfect opportunity for Jinx to unleash her chaos and anarchy upon Piltover.

So why then, would she bother saving Caitlyn, especially after wounding her so? It simply made no sense, even by Jinx's standards and truly perplexed Caitlyn.

Sighing, Caitlyn knew that there was no use in asking these questions right now. There was no one here to answer them, nor could she answer them herself. All she can do right now is be patient and wait for Jinx to arrive.

...

 _Damn it..._

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

 **So there are some noticeable differences between this chapter and its original counterpart. And if you are a previous reader, you may have noticed said differences. For example, unlike in the original story, Jinx has been given a perspective here, Caitlyn is injured far worse, and Jinx is introduced to be her captor much sooner, among other changes.**

 **I felt that these changes were necessary to make this scene more lively and vivid, and I will likely continue making similar major changes in the chapters to follow. However, I fully intend on keeping most of the original plot intact, even if some of the events along the way are altered in some form or another.**

* * *

 **Reader Response**

 **SSP399 - Thanks! I was hoping to have a much stronger intro this time, and I feel that I have successfully accomplished that. And hopefully, the experience I gained in writing does, in fact, allow me to better this story to points I was unable to reach before.**


	3. Chapter 3: Of Questions and Answers

**Re:Broken Gears**

 **Chapter 3: Of Questions and Answers**

* * *

Jinx yawned as she woke up from a long night's rest.

The day before had been a long day full of the Summoners' matches that had kept her occupied till late at night. And after barely managing to check up on Caitlyn, who had been fast asleep herself with the book Jinx left her in hand, Jinx readily fell into her own bed, weary from the day's events.

But now that she is well rested and full of energy, she is more than ready to go check up on and treat her 'guest'.

Giggling to herself, she stepped out of bed and put on a random t-shirt and some shorts, before leaving her bedroom to venture into the living room of the apartment she called home.

It wasn't that much in terms of a dwelling really, as it lied within an abandoned apartment complex within Lower Piltover. But she has grown to love it over the months she has been living in it. Call her crazy, but something about the quaint fixer-upper atmosphere it had made it quite homely to her.

And the fact that she could use several floors of it for the purpose of storing her vast supplies of ammunition, guns, tools, and various other bits and parts only made the place that much better to the criminal.

Yawning once again, she slugged over to the small love seat of hers and started to pick up a bag of medical supplies off it.

Within it were the basic medical supplies-antiseptic, wipes, gauze, etc.-she has been using for the past few days to clean and heal Caitlyn's injuries, and also several healing potions that she had picked up the day before while at the Institute of War.

The potions were the most crucial of items in her bag, and if she didn't have them, things would be quite difficult. Jinx had stopped the blood flow and stitched up Caitlyn's wounds, but by no means was she a professional, and she doubt they would heal fully and correctly without one's assistance.

And since Jinx obviously couldn't get _that_ for the Sheriff (it's rather hard getting ahold of a doctor as a wanted criminal holding the Sheriff of the city captive, believe her, she's tried), she went for the next best thing: magical potions.

Three in number, they had been pretty difficult to obtain, as Jinx had to do a lot of begging (and lying, obviously) to convince Soraka and the Summoners to hand them over. And she only managed to get them after all that because she convinced them that she had earned it for the excessive amount of matches she had to participate in; which, funnily enough, she found out the reason was because Caitlyn was unable to be contacted and, as a by-product, summoned by the Summoners for the several matches she was assigned for, and Jinx was listed as her replacement (and had to attend her own matches for the day as well).

But all the convincing and such will be well worth the effort as the potions will tremendously enhance and accelerate Caitlyn's healing, as well as reduce the scarring that would likely still result. All that would needed would be to apply them, as well as clean everything up with antiseptic and rebandage it all, and then things would be just dandy.

And it will be even easier if she can manage to do so while Caitlyn is asleep and then give her the potion as she wakes.

Now all she has to do is to just do it.

Strapping the bag over her shoulder, she carefully carried the supplies with her as she moved down the hallway to Caitlyn's room.

Stopping at the door, she imputed in the combination for the lock she had installed two days ago. She had wondered at the time of installation if such a lock was necessary, what with Caitlyn being bedridden. But now that she has these potions, Caitlyn would recover much quicker, and the lock would prove to be useful soon enough.

After all, she wouldn't want her 'guest' to leave so soon, would she?

* * *

It was daybreak when Caitlyn awoke once again.

Groggy as she regained consciousness, she realized that she had fallen asleep before meeting Jinx the night before.

Sighing, she knew that she might have to wait again and she decided to return to the book from yesterday. It was quite interesting and had eased the boredom she had felt, allowing her to easily pass the time while waiting. Or at least it did until her weariness overtook her and she fell asleep.

But before she could even think further about the book, she felt something touch her skin briefly, surprising her. Then, immediately after, she felt a cool wetness grace her-what must now be exposed-chest, sending a cold, yet blissful feeling through her body.

Letting out a sigh of relief with her eyes fluttering, she accepted the gentle caress as some unknown warm fingers moved across her skin.

But after a content full moment's pass, the feeling instantly vanished and was instead replaced with a searing pain surging through her abdomen.

Gasping, she let out a surprised yelp and her eyes burst open in expectation to see her stomach on fire. Yet she found nothing of the sorts, and she was fine.

However, what did find was something much, _much_ worse.

 _Jinx_.

Caitlyn scowled and grit her teeth involuntarily, not knowing exactly if it was a response from the stinging antiseptic or merely from the sight of the criminal. Or perhaps it was a combination of the two. She wasn't quite sure, but she didn't particularly care too much either.

"Whoops," the violet-eyed terrorist started. "Sorry, Hat Lady. I didn't mean to wake you there. I really thought you'd be able to sleep through it all again, but I guess this time the antiseptic was too strong for that, huh? Well, at least you're awake and healthy. ...Well...maybe not so much on the healthy part, but hey, you haven't died in your sleep or slipped into a coma. So that's something, right?"

As she finished her words she gave Caitlyn her irritating, infamous smirk, boiling the Sheriff's blood at the sight. Closing her eyes, Caitlyn could only pinch the bridge of her nose in irritation, as she attempted to calm her anger.

 _So it's real. Jinx really did capture and mend me. And here I was hoping it was all just a bad dream..._

Reopening her eyes, she found Jinx standing over her, holding a small pad in her hands. It was soaked with antiseptic and tinged red from Caitlyn's blood. As Caitlyn looked at it and noticed how crimson it was, she winced, wondering what could have possibly colored it so deeply.

She then realized that the only possible source was the wound near her navel and she looked down to examine it herself to see how bad it was.

However, she was not completely prepared for the sight of the long, jagged-barely held together by stitches-rupture along her waist and paled with eyes widening to it.

It was horrible, extremely worse than what Caitlyn had expected to see based on her examination the day before, and it was absolutely _sickening_ to see firsthand.

Jinx caught her expression and frowned, following her eyes to the wound. Once understanding what Caitlyn saw and was fretting over, she attempted to diffuse the situation, knowing that panicking would only make things worse.

"Woah, hey there Hat Lady, don't panic so much. It's just a small, itsy bitsy scratch really. And hey, by the time I'm done, you'll barely even notice it!" she stated, attempting to reassure.

But unfortunately, it didn't seem to do anything to relieve Caitlyn, and if anything, her words only worsened matters, as Caitlyn now turned to her with piercing blue eyes narrowing into fury filled slits.

"...'Itsy bitsy scratch'? ' _Itsy bitsy scratch'?!_ Nothing about this is _itsy bitsy_!" Caitlyn screeched, her first actual words to the criminal full of contempt and loathing.

Jinx winced at the harsh tone and scrambled over to the desk in the room's corner to grab a healing potion from her bag that was on top of it. She hoped that once Caitlyn saw it, she would calm a bit. And just as one was obtained and secured in her palms, she immediately passed it over to the irate Sheriff.

"Here. It _will_ be itsy bitsy after you take this, so stop whining so much you worrywart."

Upon seeing it, Caitlyn's fury seemed to subside slightly, just as Jinx had hoped, but she made no move to reach for it yet, for whatever reason.

"And from what shady black market did you retrieve this. Do you truly expect me to just drink this? I highly doubt its legitimacy as a healing tonic and if anything, it is more than likely some form of poison," Caitlyn spat with a disdainful scoff.

Her scowl was still high on her face as she stared the terrorist down, but at that, Jinx couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Why would it be poison? Why would I have patched you up, cared for your unconscious butt for three days now, and begged that stupid goat lady for some potions-which are _definitely_ _legit_ _thank you very much_ -all to just poison you. That would make no sense at all! You of all people should be smart enough to know that, Hat Lady," Jinx argued, defending herself.

However, the Sheriff was still a _very_ stubborn individual, and did not budge one bit.

"Yes, but it would be far from the first senseless action you have committed, and I would be willing to put trust in a burning building to provide me shelter before I would in you. So surely you can see why I am rather reluctant to believe you."

This time, Jinx simply sighed at the bitter Sheriff's words. At this point, she realized that a different approach would be necessary just to get Caitlyn to drink the damn potion. But at least she knew what approach to take to do so.

"Here Hat Lady, I'll make you a deal. If you drink the stupid thing _that I promise is a health potion_ , I will tell you everything you want to know. You like to play detective, so I bet you are dying to ask me like a million questions, right? Humor me here, and I'll answer every single one. Got it?"

Silent for a moment, Caitlyn scanned the violet orbs of the criminal for traces of dishonesty. But as she found none, Jinx could tell that the pursuit of information was starting to get to the Sheriff and watched as her resolve began to shake.

And just like she thought, after a long while Caitlyn sighed and dropped the stare, silently grabbing the potion from her.

"Fine. I will believe you, if only because you seem uncharacteristically desperate; and because you are right. I _do_ know that it would be rather unnecessary to go through all this effort just to kill me now. It would be too senseless even for _your_ standards."

"Hey!" Jinx returned, seemingly taking offense. "I'm not being desperate. You are just being ridiculously stubborn. I'm trying to help you here if you haven't noticed, and you are making things like a thousand times more difficult than it needs to be. I don't know why you find it so hard to believe that," Jinx finished with an indignant huff.

"...Well maybe I find it hard to believe because you were the one to have _put_ _me_ _in this situation._ Have you ever considered that to be a possibility?" Caitlyn returned with a withering glare.

But she gave Jinx no chance to retort this time and placed the tonic against her lips. Taking a small swallow at first, she was able to determine the familiar taste of the potion she had taken many a time on the Fields of Justice and then began to chug down the rest.

It had a sweet, syrupy taste to it at first, and reminded her of her favorite taffy in a way. But as it reached deeper into her, she began to feel it burn, and closed her eyes in preparation for its effects to take place.

See, despite how they appeared to be on the Summoners' playgrounds, potions weren't just simple drinks that you could pop after a gruesome injury and be perfectly fine.

Outside the Fields of Justice, where incredible items and magics of all kind are restricted to basic levels, and pain is dulled even in the most terrible of injuries, potions are dangerous items, _extremely_ dangerous.

While they could heal even the direst of wounds in a matter of days, or even hours in rare cases, they operated by magically cauterizing your wounds from the inside out as well as painfully realigning broken bones to strengthen one's healing processes. As such, the pain from drinking even just one, let alone multiple, commonly caused individuals to pass out, and in rare situations, even die.

And as they burned worse the more injured you are, with all her bruises and the giant wound on her navel, Caitlyn knew she was in for one hell of a ride.

Steeling herself and gritting her teeth, she prepared as much as possible. But when the true pain came, there was nothing she could do to resist shouting out in agony.

Closing her eyes, she shook in waves as the potion took effect and weaved its magic through her wounds. Her body seared and ached all over for a good several minutes, threatening her consciousness several times.

However, whether it was from luck alone, or from past experiences with potions, both on and off of the Fields of Justice, she managed to stay awake each time, and after a great deal of time passed, she began to get some relief as the potion started wearing off.

The burning pain began to dull down, and with it, she regained conscious thought, allowing her to be able to feel the difference in herself.

Idly, she heard Jinx murmur, "See, was that so hard?" in the background, but she paid no mind to it. Instead, she decided to see the aftermath, and examine how much the potion healed her.

And as she reopened her eyes, she was able to see just how much her various injuries had improved. Now in a much better condition, where bruises had previously completely colored her skin, she could see several sections now return to her natural skin tone. In addition, her more grievous of wounds felt dramatically better from what they had been before, and even her navel wound seemingly shrunk a bit.

Of course, she would need another one or even the remaining two before more significant effects could take place, but it would be extremely dangerous to do so in one sitting. And considering all she has been through the past several days, she is more than tired of being in extreme pain.

So as such, for now, things are much better and that it good enough for the day. And now she can move on to other focuses, such as asking some well deserved questions and getting her damn answers.

"It appears that you owe me some answers now," Caitlyn started, letting go a shaky breath that she hadn't even known she'd been holding. "I have upheld my end of the bargain and it's time for you to honor your part."

"Alright, let's have a little chit chat then. A deal is a deal after all, even though you wouldn't stop giving me crap about it," the criminal muttered with narrowed eyes "So, what do you want to know first Hat Lady?" Jinx finished, smiling deviously.

"Firstly, why did you bother saving me?" Caitlyn curtly returned. It was the one question that had been plaguing the Sheriff since she first awoke and she'd be damned if she didn't have it answered first.

"Ah, straight to business. I like it," Jinx stated with a giggle. "It's pretty simple, really, I just didn't want you to die. Kinda obvious, don't you think?"

"No, it isn't obvious at all! It makes no sense why you, the city's most wanted, wants to keep me, the same city's _Sheriff,_ alive. So answer me that now. _Why_ do you want me alive?"

"Hmm. That's a bit harder to answer, but if I'm being honest, I guess it's just cause I like you Hat Lady. You're fun to toy with. And besides, it would've been a bit messed up to just leave you there after an accident like that."

"Accident? You mean to tell me dropping half a building on me _was an accident?"_ Came Caitlyn's incredulous reply. She couldn't believe the ridiculousness of Jinx's words, wondering just how different her definition of the word 'accident' was from the criminal's.

"Yep! Well, kinda. I only meant to drop enough bricks at the entrance to trap you in and was hoping that maybe a brick or two would knock you out so I could capture you. But I underestimated things and it sorta dropped a lot more than I thought. It was a bit of a live and learn kind of deal if you ask me," Jinx responded with an 'innocent' giggle, much to the Sheriff's irritation.

As she felt her left eye begin to twitch slightly, Caitlyn paused and had to relax herself. Pinching the bridge of her nose again and letting out a deep sigh, she vented some of her frustration and anger, knowing that after all, she would get nowhere by throttling the criminal. However, despite it all, she _still_ _really wants to throttle her_.

"Jinx..." she started when she felt calm enough to speak. "Why did you capture me? Are you looking for ransom? Do you want to torture me for some form of information? What do you _possibly_ want me for?"

Finally, the criminal stopped grinning at her questions, now taking on a more thoughtful expression.

"Hmm, well I never thought about a ransom. It could be nice, but nah, I never intended on kidnapping you for any of that. Besides, robbing a bank would be much easier if I wanted money. Anyways, I was just bored and thought it'd be fun to have you as a personal plaything. And considering how long you were chasing me like that, it was pretty easy to just nap you up. Uh, aside from the whole injuries thing."

While the inane response annoyed Caitlyn, it was rather insightful…somehow. Possibly without even knowing, Jinx had confirmed Caitlyn's earlier suspicions of her knowing the Sheriff was trailing her. But sadly, that new knowledge seemed to only raise more questions, such as precisely how long had Jinx known? And how was the trap that Jinx had set up so elaborate for a seemingly spur of the moment decision.

If Jinx had chosen any other alleyway, there was no way her trap would have worked. The alley she had collapsed had the perfect set up: one entrance to prevent horizontal escape, high walls to prevent vertical escape, objects to distract the Sheriff, and a fire escape for Jinx to sit on and pull it all off. No other alley had all of those qualities, and even if Jinx had been searching for the perfect alley with each of the random wrong turns she had taken during Caitlyn's trailing, and the trap really was spontaneous, it had been executed way too smoothly to not be premeditated in the slightest.

However, despite her wanting to inquire more vocally on it all, she felt that she had more pressing matters concerning something else Jinx had said.

"And what makes you think you will be able to keep me as said…' _personal play thing'?_ " She questioned with distaste evident in her voice.

She is the Sheriff of Piltover, not at all a person to take lightly. So if Jinx truly believes she can keep her here, well, she is much more foolish than the Sheriff assumed.

"Uh, I'm not sure you noticed Hat Lady, but you kinda have like a bazillion bruises, a broken arm, and a huge ass-er _itsy bitsy_ -gash on your belly. You probably couldn't even kill a fly in this state!" Jinx stated with a grin stretching across her face. But after a moment, she paused as her words caught up with her.

"Well...maybe you can with your left hand. And maybe you could, I don't know, kick it? Your legs seem good enough to do it, I guess. And maybe you could-wait, I'm getting so sidetracked. The point is that even with the healing potion kicking you up a couple of notches, you're still in a pretty crappy condition. And heck, even if you were all fine and dandy, this place is locked down with no way out without a password. And if all else fails, you're still defenseless without your rifle and I always have this little buddy with me," she finished, pointing at her hip.

The shock pistol that Jinx commonly used was on it, and from her knowledge of such devices, Caitlyn could assume a single shot from it would be more than enough to disable her should she try anything.

"So face it, Hat Lady. You're pretty much mine, and there's nothing you can say or _do_ about it."

Caitlyn's scowl grew deeply at the criminal's words. Jinx had an air of arrogance and superiority that had her wanting nothing less than knocking her down a few pegs. But she held her tongue for a moment, gathering her thoughts.

"...Perhaps you are correct," she finally, begrudgingly admitted. "I am in a rather helpless situation. _But_ you seem to forget how resourceful I am and no matter how long you hold me here, I guarantee you, I will find a way to utilize those resources in an escape," She uttered, deadly serious.

But ever to her irritation, the criminal merely chuckled at her response. And after a moment's pass, her chuckles grew into full blown laughter with Jinx collapsing onto the previously unoccupied portion of the bed. At this point, Caitlyn could no longer maintain her semblance of calmness, and couldn't help but snap out at insulting display.

"... _What_ is so humorous about what I said?!" Caitlyn growled, gritting her teeth as the criminal continued rolling around. "Do you honestly think this is some form of joke?!"

"Pfft, _yes_!" Jinx returned, finally ceasing her laughter, but voice still full of mirth. "Of course I do. Like, what 'resources' do you really think you have? I have your gun and hat, there is no one able to find or aid you for miles, and if you actually think that Vi or any of your officers will be able to rescue you, then you're either dumber or more pitiful than I thought."

Caitlyn narrowed her eyes in a withering glare. "What makes you so certain they won't? Vi is an excellent officer, and will no doubt bring our best to accompany her. In fact, I'm certain she is on your very trail as we speak."

But at that, Jinx blanked in expression, blinking several times. "You're not seriously saying that are you? You _can't_ seriously believe that, Hat Lady." However, after Caitlyn's scowl refused to falter, she could tell that yes, the irritated Sheriff was quite serious.

"Bahaha, you really do believe in that imbecile, don't you?! That's...that's _incredible_!" Jinx squealed, voice full of laughter.

" I just don't understand it. How can you have faith in her? Like if you couldn't find this place after all this time you've been looking for me-and you're probably the best detective in the whole world-what makes you think _that_ brickhead will find us here?"

This time, the Sheriff was silent. She had no response to that, mostly because it was all true. Insults aside, Jinx had hit the nail on the coffin. Caitlyn truly hadn't found this hideout, despite how long and hard she had searched for it. Hell, she is _inside it_ and she still doesn't know where she is.

And if the Sheriff of Piltover, one of the city's greatest detectives, couldn't find it yet, what hope did Vi have? _None_.

But… she couldn't just give Jinx the satisfaction of her admitting defeat and scoffed in defiance. No, she'd be damned before she even came _close_ to doing so.

"You underestimate my partner too much. That will find you a cell one of these days. I _promise_ _you_ , I will see you in a cell."

"Pfft, you _overestimate_ your partner too much. She won't be able to find us to save her life, let alone yours. So you might as well relax and get comfy, cause you're not going anywhere. But don't worry, you're gonna love it here. Trust me! And it's gonna be so much fun!" Jinx returned with glee filling her voice.

"...I severely doubt your version of 'fun' mirrors my own," Caitlyn idly retorted with a snort.

At that, Jinx simply pouted. "Aww, quit being such a downer, Hat Lady. Would it kill ya to lighten up a little?"

"My apologies. I'll try to refrain from raining on your parade, my dearest, _psychopathic_ hostess," Caitlyn muttered sarcastically in return, rolling her eyes for good measure. But with a sigh, Jinx seemed to ignore her displeasure and returned a wide grin on her face.

"Anyways, I came in here to check up on you and rebandage you. And it's probably not good to just leave you all bare body and stuff, so let's get you covered up again," Jinx finished, proceeding to get up and move over to her bag once again.

After taking in the criminal's words, Caitlyn finally took a moment to look down, found that her upper body had truly been exposed the entire time.

Reddening, she positioned her free arm over herself, in an attempt to retain whatever decency she had left while Jinx brought more wrappings over.

"Alright, here we go. One rebandaging coming...right...up…?"

Jinx trailed off as she noticed Caitlyn's action and embarrassed expression. Realizing what the Sheriff was doing, or rather what she was _hiding_ Jinx burst out in glee.

"Are...are you covering yourself?" she questioned with mirth coloring her tone. "You are, aren't you? And are you... _blushing_?"

Narrowing her eyes at the grinning criminal, the Sheriff attempted to defend herself.

"No! I'm not blushing. I'm just…" she trailed off, unable to come up with a proper excuse. "Whatever, j-just wrap me up already."

She cursed her stutter and her embarrassment and hoped that the girl wouldn't catch her on it. However, as Jinx started giggling, she knew that such was not the case and she would likely get no relief.

"You know," Jinx managed through her laughter, "for someone who jokes about fuzzy cuffs, you sure do seem pretty prudish right now."

"Prudish? I am no prude. I'm merely just...cold. Yes, it is rather chilly in here, and I am trying to conserve heat," Caitlyn lied. But it was painfully obvious to both of them how weak it was, and Jinx shook her head at her.

"Oh come on, Hat Lady. I knew you were all stiff and uptight, but a prude too? Tsk tsk. I know you're old, but I didn't think you were _that_ old. You act like a grandmother in a woman's body, for crying out loud."

Caitlyn scowled at that, offended by the criminal's words. "I am not old-nor am I a prude for that matter. I just prefer to keep a certain measure of decency, especially around _wanted terrorists_. And for the record, I am only 23 years old, thank you very much. I highly doubt I am that much older than you even."

"Yeah well, you sure as heck don't act like you're 23."

"I'm not old! I just…" Caitlyn trailed off with a sigh, giving up her convincing. She was starting to grow weary of all the back and forth and decided to just accept Jinx's teasing at this point.

"Can you just…wrap me up already?" Caitlyn chose to ask instead.

"Alright fine, but you're gonna have to move the arm first, _Prude_ Lady," Jinx stated with a snicker as she modified her usual nickname for the Sheriff, receiving a roll of the blue orbs in return. However, Caitlyn begrudgingly listened and followed the instruction, removing her arm from her breasts.

"Oh hey, you actually listened on the first try! Finally, we're getting places here!" Jinx joked, unraveling the gauze she held. Caitlyn scoffed at her but said nothing in return, allowing Jinx to position the wrap over her.

As Jinx worked, Caitlyn was also able to get a better view of her upper torso, and found it in a moderate condition. Relatively fine on the left side, it was a bit more injured on the right, just like everywhere else on her body. It sported several bruises and she could see at least two stitched up cuts, but all in all, it wasn't too bad. Nothing that the potions and natural healing wouldn't fix up at any rate.

"Hey, can you try to sit up just a bit? It will make doing this _so_ much easier," she heard Jinx murmur.

Complying, she attempted to move up a bit, but struggled to do so as her injuries flared. With a groan, she was about to fall back down until a cool hand grasped hers, and aided her up a few inches. Feeling a warmth in her cheeks, she tried to ignore the softness of pale skin and let Jinx wrap the gauze around her body several times. And after what felt like forever had passed, she heard Jinx cut the wrap, and tape it together.

"There we go! You're all patched up again, and your precious 'decency' is preserved. You know, I don't see why you are so prudish anyways. You should honestly be proud of that nice rack you have."

"W-what?" Caitlyn stuttered in reply, confused at Jinx 'compliment'. She couldn't help but blush further as well, much to her dismay.

She wasn't sure why Jinx was getting the best of her, but it was really starting to bother her. And Jinx for her part, obviously had no clue to such being the case and merely grinned at her reply.

"I mean it! You're jugs are pretty good! Not Ahri level or anything, but definitely better than my flat self."

"Erm...thank you? I guess…" the Sheriff awkwardly responded. She had no clue how else to reply to the criminal's words and felt off balance and confused. As such, with a fake cough, she decided to shift gears to avoid any further discussions about her chest size and the such.

"...When did you even learn first aid anyways? I wouldn't imagine a criminal like you takes basic medical classes," she asked. She is truly curious as to how Jinx knows, as the criminal's work was surprisingly well done-probably better than what she herself could accomplish.

"Huh? When did I learn first aid? Hmm, I don't really remember to be honest. But when you're the world's awesomest, most badass criminal escaping from the law on a daily basis, and fending off an elite sniper and a human bulldozer-you kinda tend to pick up some useful skills along the way. And first aid was just one of them I guess," Jinx explained.

"...Alright. I suppose I can find sense in that. If barely."

Pausing, Caitlyn looked away from the criminal before begrudgingly adding, "I suppose I should also be somewhat... _grateful_ that you did pick up that particular skill. I would likely have died had you not mended me."

She didn't quite know why she felt the need to add that, but regardless, she had spoken her mind and got it out. However, as Jinx remained silent for her part, she questioned whether it was a good idea at all and was about to speak up again to rectify her words.

But right before she could get out anything, Jinx finally spoke up.

"...Are you _thanking_ me, Hat Lady?" She questioned incredulously. She seemed genuinely surprised at Caitlyn's words, as if the Sheriff was completely incapable of showing any level of gratitude towards her. Although, she probably was not far from the truth as with a roll her eyes, Caitlyn couldn't help but scoff.

"No, of course not. Don't be ridiculous. That shall be the closest you get to me actually thanking you and even then it is still far from it." But despite herself, her words somehow lacked all of the hatred and distaste that was present earlier in the day. And almost as if picking up on it, Jinx started to grin once more.

"Oh yeah? Well it sounded like one to me!" Jinx stated, drawing a scowl from the Sheriff.

"No. It was most definitely not," Caitlyn returned adamantly.

"Nope! It definitely was. And you can't convince me otherwise, Hat Lady!"

"It was-"

Caitlyn stopped herself as she realized that she was once again pointlessly arguing with Jinx. With a sigh, she closed her eyes and placed her functional hand over her face.

"Fine. Take it as you will. I cannot care about continuing these ceaseless arguments anymore. I swear, I will lose all my braincells with you present 24/7…" she muttered.

Jinx for her part only giggled at the irritated Sheriff. "It's okay! You don't need those things anyways. My life is awesome without them."

"I'm sure it is." Caitlyn returned with a roll of her eyes.

Giving one last giggle, Jinx got off the bed and placed her supplies back in the back on the table. "Alright. I'm going to go make some food now. I bet you're pretty hungry and thirst from not eating or drinking for three days, right?"

Caitlyn was about to state that she is fine, but as a low grumble resounded from her gut at the mere notion of food, it was clear to both of them that she was in fact quite hungry.

"I guess that's a yes then," Jinx said with a giggle. "Okay, I'll be back in a little bit."

Watching Jinx's form as she left, Caitlyn remained silent. Not sure what else to do in the criminal's absence, she sighed and picked up the book she had been reading off of the nightstand, opening it to where she left off...

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

 **This chapter was a bit hard to revise. The original was...quite a mess, to put things short. I felt it went in too many directions and didn't accurately display Jinx's and especially Caitlyn's different personalities (at least, not in the way I perceive them). With this revision, I hope to have corrected these problems and introduce more to the setting and overall story sooner. In addition, older viewers will noticed that I have introduced new elements to this chapter.**

 **Oh, also, I meant to get this out much sooner, and although technically, I finished it on yesterday, editing took a while and delayed me from submitting it until today. I plan on getting next week's more on time, though.**

 **Anyways, thanks for reading, and thanks to my beta reader, Lux du Couteau as always.**

* * *

 **Reader Acknowledgement**

 **Nightmare's Dimension - Thanks! It's nice to hear that it is more interesting already.**

 **BrokenGears - All aboard indeed. Glad to see that you are back and look forward to updates again!**

 **Nyx Sigma ZERO - Welcome back! And to be honest, I hadn't planned on releasing it so shortly. But after a long break, I took some time to revisit the original and decided I needed to make it much better and started working on this, and now here we are.**


	4. Chapter 4: Unnecessary Features

With a long yawn, Caitlyn realized that she has never been more bored in her life.

Prior to now, she had thought paperwork and patrolling solo were absolutely life draining and the worse things she could experience in terms of sheer boredom. But being bedridden for _four days_ now, even with being unconscious for practically half of them, she quickly found that she was wrong. _Extremely_ _wrong_.

Lying here in this bed, she has virtually no way of entertaining herself, save re-reading the book on the nightstand. And while it was a fairly good read, she wasn't particularly in the mood for reopening it.

She had finished it the night prior, after Jinx had abandoned her upon delivering food. She had questioned the bluenette's actions at the time, but had only been curtly given "I got to get something taken care of for tomorrow," as an answer.

Jinx had left immediately after that-before the Sheriff had been able to even get a word in-and as such, the night had been fairly lonely and uneventful for Caitlyn.

Well, for the most part.

Jinx _did_ come back another time later that night to check up on Caitlyn. And after, she had to aid the Sheriff in... _relieving_ herself, carrying Caitlyn to a restroom in the hallway. It had been quite an awkward and miserable experience, one that the Sheriff will likely be mentally repressing...

But besides that, Caitlyn had been by her lonesome for most of the night and this morning. And it is starting to absolutely kill her.

She certainly would never, _ever_ admit it out loud, but she is starting to find herself somewhat... _missing_ the presence of her captor. It disgusted her to even think that, but she really can't deny it.

Jinx had made this horrible state of being a bit more...sufferable yesterday, somehow. And if Caitlyn can manage to suppress the urge to strangle the insane girl, she supposed things wouldn't be too bad to have her company again. After all, Jinx's maddening antics had at least provided her mediocre entertainment, if nothing else. And that by itself was much better than staying in this agonizing silence alone.

But unfortunately for her, Jinx was off who knows where, doing who knows what, which meant Caitlyn will be idle in this _godforsaken_ bed for what will likely be hours.

" _Wonderful_ ," she muttered with a sigh. Closing her eyes, she reasoned that it might be better to simply return to sleep.

After all, it would be better to skip this time, as the mornings, as it is currently, were the hardest part of the day. The quiet stillness of dawn's early light left her with nothing but her thoughts, and those were no comfort to her either because she can't stop lingering on what she's lost.

Specifically, the loss of her possessions constantly plagued her. With both hat and rifle gone from her reach, she couldn't help but feel naked and empty. They were such a significant part of her identity that she felt broken inside without them.

And in addition to the uncomfortable state not having her items has left her in, she couldn't stop thinking about her loved ones as well. The thoughts of her parents especially haunted her, as she knew that by now, they were likely searching for her, as news of her disappearance should be getting out. And if they believe her to be dead and are now mourning her...

...well, she tried not to focus on that too much. But being left idle with her thoughts made it _really_ hard not to...

She shook her head. "Relax, Caitlyn. You just need to relax and let sleep overtake you. It shouldn't even be that difficult. This perpetual weary state that these damn injuries have left you in should make things easy. It should be _very easy_ …"

...

 _So then why can't I do it?_

 _Ugh._

Groaning, she reopened her eyes and stared at the ceiling absently. She feared that she would lose her sanity here. That her mind would eventually break and that she'd then be no different than Jinx. And with each passing second she felt closer and closer to it becoming reality...

With a heavy sigh, she realized it would be a long morning...

* * *

" _Finally._ That took _forever_!" Jinx moaned, wiping sweat off her brow. But she couldn't help but smile, despite herself.

"It was all worth it though. Hat Lady is gonna love this…"

Stepping back, she took in the sight of her creation. It was... _beautiful._

"Alright, now time to get this baby to her."

But just as she was about to move it, she paused, remembering something rather important: she has to get it up several flights of stairs.

"...How am I gonna push this thing up there? Wait, I don't even think I _can_ push it. It would be too awkward to try. I'll probably just have to carry it up. Carry it up _all those stairs_. ...Ugh."

Groaning, she wondered why the hell she had built it with no plan of getting it up first. It was beyond her, but she knew that what's done is done. Letting out another loud groan, she started moving it towards the building's stairwell, preparing herself for the long climb...

* * *

" _Gah!"_ Jinx shouted as she got past the final stair.

Dropping to the floor, she panted in exhaustion as her creation rolled past the doorway.

"Why. Have I. Not built. _A damn elevator, yet?_ " she wheezed out. She had not expected carrying the creation up two flights of stairs would be so damn hard...but she supposed she was done now. Not that it really made her feel any better.

"You better appreciate the things I do for you, Hat Lady…" she muttered.

Finally regaining her breath, she picked herself up off the floor. After all, she still needs to actually get the thing to Caitlyn.

After huffing a weary sigh, she moved over to it and grabbed its handles, pushing it along in the direction of Caitlyn's room. However, right before she unlocked the door and took her creation inside, she paused.

"Hmm...maybe I should surprise her with it," she murmured, thinking out loud. "Yeah, that sounds fun. Let's do that."

Decision made, she parked it out of view and then unlocked and opened the door.

Closing her eyes in a wide grin, she sprung into the room to announce her presence. "Heya, Hat Lady!" she called out, greeting the Sheriff.

However, no response was given back for some reason and wondering why, she moved further into the room. To her surprise, she found the Sheriff fast asleep, with navy strands draping her still face.

Grinning to herself, Jinx found it somewhat humorous that Caitlyn was asleep despite the day starting to fade. And with a giggle, she moved closer to the bed, intending on waking the Sheriff. But once she was hovering over it, her breath stilled and she couldn't help but take in the full view of the sleeping woman.

She has always known Caitlyn to be extraordinarily beautiful. After all, anyone could see that the soft, graceful curves and striking features that framed the Sheriff's appearance made her a sight to behold. But for Jinx to see the Sheriff this close, even with her being asleep and still in fairly poor conditions from her injuries, it was a whole different experience and was literally leaving Jinx breathless.

In her enchantment, Jinx gazed at the sleeping beauty, hopelessly examining every small detail of her face. And for some reason, Caitlyn's luscious lips were especially captivating to Jinx, unconsciously drawing her in.

However, as the Sheriff shifted, she was broken out of her trance and left blinking. As her face grew into a frown, Jinx felt more than uncomfortable and was wondering what had just happened.

Why had she been so affixed with Caitlyn there? And just what was she about to do? She had a sinking suspicion, but the thought bothered her more than she cared to admit.

However, with a shake of her head, she decided to put it out of mind for now. It would get here nowhere focusing on such thoughts and instead, she returned to the task at hand: waking Caitlyn up.

Gently placing a hand on the Sheriff's uninjured shoulder, Jinx started to shake her away.

Knowing that Caitlyn is a rather surprisingly heavy sleeper, if the past few days were any indication, Jinx applied slightly more pressure and began to call out to her.

"Hat Lady. Hey, Hat Lady. Wake up," she started. At that, Caitlyn seemed to stir a bit, but still remained asleep. And as such, ever the impatient person, Jinx decided to take more... _drastic_ measures.

Grinning as she leaned over, she pressed her lips close as possible to the Sheriff's ear without touching it's, and then she drew a breath.

Holding it in for a moment, she then proceeded to release it in a loud shout, yelling out, "Hey, Hat Lady!" into Caitlyn's ear.

And just as she expected, the Sheriff burst into consciousness with a panicked filled shout of her own, and with her blue orbs full of alarm and fear.

"W-wha?!" She stuttered, rapidly blinking as she came to life. Watching her in such a state, Jinx couldn't help but double over in laughter, finding the Sheriff's shock to be hilarious.

However, as Caitlyn finally started to come to, the Sheriff's scowl told her that the woman did not share her sentiment.

"...I suppose you find this funny, don't you?" Caitlyn questioned, snarling in her agitation.

Snickering, Jinx continued her pestering. "Of course I do! You looked like a tornado just hit you, or like your mom just blew up! I don't even think I've ever seen you so surprised. That was just amazing!" Jinx gleefully stated.

Sighing, Caitlyn picked the bridge of her nose in response. Internally, she swore that Jinx would be the death of her one day...

"Well when one has their ear practically explored by a psychopath, I would imagine them to be _quite shocked_ ," Caitlyn murmured, annoyance still coloring her voice. But as Jinx snickered some more at her words, she shook her head and decided to move on.

"What do you even want, Jinx?"

"Why nothing more than to see how my favorite person is doing! That's all," Jinx returned.

"...Oh really now? And when did I become your 'favorite person' again, because I am fairly certain we are practically mortal enemies."

"Pfft, nah! Mortal enemies would be like Lucian and Thresh, or Kayle and Morgana. Those guys live to kill the other, and we're not _that bad_. Heck, I'd say we're more rivals than anything, to be honest. And I don't know how long. Probably since I captured you I guess," Jinx supplied with a shrug.

"...Naturally," Caitlyn muttered, with a roll of her eyes. "What even makes me your 'favorite person'?"

"Hmm," Jinx hummed, adopting a thinking stance. "Well, I guess you don't bore me like everyone else does...well, not completely. I guess that by itself kinda already puts you at the top of the list. So yeah."

"Right, of course. And I suppose my absolute _loathing_ of you means nothing, as well."

"Nope, it doesn't! And besides, you don't really mean that anyways."

That had Caitlyn raise a brow. "Oh? What makes you believe so, because while I could be wrong, I'm fairly certain that I hate _every fiber of your being_."

"You haven't yelled at me that much. Not like you used to. That's what makes me think so!" Jinx returned with a smirk on her face, as if she were victorious. But Caitlyn could only blink at that response, finding it completely inane.

"...So simply because I do not feel arguing with you every possible moment that I can is worth the time or effort, you suppose us to be-dare I say it- _friends_ now?" Caitlyn finally questioned after a moment had passed, finding the girl's logic to be almost hilariously flawed.

"Yup!" Jinx replied, ever gleeful. "And watch, we're gonna be the best of friends, Hat Lady! We'll do each other's hair, go shopping for clothes, modify our guns-it'll be awesome!"

"...You truly are delusional. I hope you know that," Caitlyn murmured, deadpanning.

"Oh don't worry, I do. But I've always found it funner to live outside of reality than inside! Inside is always so boring with all its rules and morals, but outside of it, you can do whatever you want and not give a single care!" Jinx stated with a wide grin.

Caitlyn shook her head at that, not knowing where at all to begin with it. So instead of trying to reason with Jinx's insanity, she decided to move on.

"...You still haven't told me what exactly you want from me."

"Huh? Yeah I did? I want to see how well you are, silly. You know, to check up on you and stuff," Jinx returned.

"...How well do you _suppose_ it is going? I am stuck here in this fairly empty room, indefinitely confined to this damn bed with practically nothing to entertain myself with save for my own thoughts-which have been fairly depressing lately, thanks to you," Caitlyn stated with a noticeable hint of bitterness and contempt in her voice.

"Pfft, it can't be _that_ bad, Hat Lady. You make it sound like your soul is being devoured or something," Jinx replied with a scoff. "You're just being melodramatic."

At that, Caitlyn arched her brows. "Oh really? You speak as though you know what it is like to be both incapacitated and idle...yet, I highly doubt that you have _any_ experience in the matter. Actually, you probably have never even sat still for a day in your life, let alone for several on end. In fact, I would be _more than delighted_ to see you lie here for full minute-provided you could even last that long," Caitlyn stated, with a challenge clear in her voice.

As Jinx reflected upon the Sheriff's words, her face came together in her infamously wide grin. "Alright then, Hat Lady! You really think I can't do it? Well get ready, because I'm going to make you eat those words and show you just how patient I can be."

Not even a moment after the words left her mouth, Jinx waltzed over and promptly hopped into the bed. Briefly, Caitlyn couldn't help but worry that Jinx would agitate her still healing body with the carefree action.

However, her concerns were instantly dashed as, despite her casual stride, Jinx seemingly took acute measures as to not disturb Caitlyn's injuries. She lied aside the Sheriff's left half as she settled in and refrained from touching the still fairly bruised skin Caitlyn sported. Even at the expense of her own comfort as Jinx almost dangled off the bed trying to lay on it.

Watching it all, Caitlyn found things mildly surprising. She wouldn't be so willing to believe Jinx capable of such finesse in her actions, and she was...somewhat pleased to see otherwise.

However, as all the action died down, she saw Jinx start to frown as if the girl was unsure what to do next.

"So…" Jinx started.

She looked around the room, seemingly searching for something to speak on. Finally settling her eyes on the setting sun in the window, she perked up.

"...The window. That's pretty interesting, huh?"

Following her gaze, Caitlyn also watched the sunset scene. She wasn't much of a person to overly enjoy sunsets, so it didn't mean that much to her. But it did fill the room with mild entertainment through the vibrant colors shining inside each day.

"I suppose so…" she muttered in return. "It is better than everything else in this godforsaken place at very least."

"Aww…" Caitlyn heard Jinx whine. Turning her view, she found the criminal pouting, drawing a slight grin to her face at the ridiculous sight. She had a feeling that she'd regret asking, but regardless, after a moment she ventured with a question.

"...What is it?"

"You don't really mean _everything_ , right? Aren't I interesting?" Jinx questioned, as if her entire happiness depended on Caitlyn's answer right then and there.

Unable to restrain it, Caitlyn let out a chuckle at that. After all, here was the city's most infamous criminal, who was wanted for more crimes than a wanted list could even hold, seeking Caitlyn's attention like a small puppy. As such, the Sheriff couldn't really resist poking fun at ridiculous girl.

"No, I'm fairly certain that I do in fact mean _everything._ I do not particularly find you interesting. You are much more irritating and annoying than anything else, really."

"Aww, c'mon Hat Lady!" Jinx whined, stretching out her words. "How can you still mistreat me so? Especially with all I've done for you these past few days. I mean I've patched you up, fed you, and heck I even _sponge bathed_ you while you were unconscious! And yet here you are, not even willing to give me the smallest amount of recognition. How mean. Humph!"

With that said, Jinx crossed her arms in a deeper pout, but Caitlyn couldn't help but chuckle some more at the humorous sight.

"And you called me melodramatic. You are most definitely one to talk. Besides, need I remind you whom it was to have placed me to be in this situation?"

"...Yeah, well, details, smetails. So what if I sorta almost killed you. Who cares?! All that matters is that you're alive now, right?"

"Yes. Alive, but incapacitated and completely and utterly bored out of mind. Quite an amazing state to be in if you ask me." Caitlyn sarcastically returned, idly looking back at the window.

"Well then, since you're _oh_ _so_ bored, how about we do something fun then?!" Jinx questioned, perking up and sitting up.

Surprised at the sudden change in tone, Caitlyn looked over at the girl. However, what was not as surprising was that Jinx now had her infamous smirk spread across her face. With a frown, Caitlyn could tell that Jinx had something big in mind, likely something she would completely disagree with.

"...What do you mean by…' _fun_ '? After all, your definition of the word drastically contrasts my own," she asked warily. While she _is_ somewhat curious as to what Jinx is going on about, she is also reasonably apprehensive.

"Hehe, I have a surprise for you," Jinx returned with a suspicious giggle.

"A surprise? Funny, I'm not quite sure I wish to find out what it is."

"Come on, Hat Lady! Live a little! And besides, it's a completely harmless surprise that I _promise_ you'll enjoy it. Please?" Jinx pleaded, squeezing her face and eyes in an innocent (or at least it would be had it came from anyone but the city's most infamous) expression. It was pretty pathetic, but not unlike the face a lost puppy would give and somehow, it seemed to crumble most of whatever resolve Caitlyn had. But true to her stubborn nature, Caitlyn still attempted to protest.

"...I don't kn-"

" _Pretty please_ ," Jinx interrupted. If it was possible for Jinx to become even more compelling with her expression, she did it, destroying the rest of the Sheriff's resistance. And with a sigh, Caitlyn closed her eyes and brought her free hand to her brow to massage it.

"...Fine. Show me what your _ever so_ important surprise is, Jinx," she reluctantly stated.

And with that, Jinx's expression instantly morphed into a joyful one and she jumped off the bed in a gleeful shout.

"Yay! This is gonna be awesome! Alright, just let me go get it real quick. Hold on."

Running to the door, she swung it open and disappeared past it into the hallway. But not even a minutes later, she burst back into the room, pushing her 'surprise' inside.

"Ta-da!" She exclaimed, presenting the display with arms stretched out exaggeratedly.

Caitlyn paused as she examined it. Not particularly sure what to make of it, she couldn't help but ask.

"Is that...a _wheelchair_?"

"Yup! But not just any old wheelchair. This is a hextech enhanced one! It glows in the dark so you can see where you are going, has a seat warmer to keep you warm, and it has a cup holder! It's everything you could want in a wheelchair and more!"

Jinx's animated expression seemed to be expecting some form of excited response from the Sheriff, but Caitlyn was much more confused than anything else, in all honesty.

"So this is what you spent all this time doing? Building me a wheelchair with, might I say, rather... _unnecessary_ features? Wait, why might I even require a wheelchair? My legs were not severely injured and I should be perfectly fine to walk within a week or two, regardlessly. Well, provided I take the other two potions within that time frame, that is. Still, why do I need this?" she asked.

But Jinx seemed to miss her question, taking on an affronted expression. Raising a brow, Caitlyn silently inquired Jinx to explain it. But Jinx merely stayed silent herself, still holding the expression. Finally, growing tired of it all, Caitlyn decided to vocalize her question.

"...What is it?"

"...Did you just call them _unnecessary features_?" Jinx questioned with offense heavily evident in her voice.

"...Yes?" Caitlyn returned, unsure how else to reply.

"How dare you! They aren't unecessary. They are _totally necessary_ and were completely justified decisions. Each one will serve its purpose dutifully and will be absolutely useful!" Jinx huffed with arms cross.

"Right," Caitlyn scoffed, stretching out the word in a sarcastic manner. "And when would a cup holder for a wheelchair ever be that useful?"

"When I'm pushing you while extremely thirsty and I need to carry my soda at the same time. That's when!" Jinx returned fiercely.

Rolling her eyes, the Sheriff decided to move on from this inane conversation, knowing she'd get nowhere with it.

"You still didn't mention why I even need the wheelchair." she questioned.

"So we can leave this room and have some fun? Duh." Jinx returned as if it was blatantly obvious.

"...You still haven't told me what this 'fun' entails either."

"And I'm not gonna! Now, let's get you in here!" Jinx stated, moving the wheelchair over to the bed. However, she paused seemingly as she realized something.

"Wait. Your injuries might not actually be ready for this yet and I don't want to try it and burst that navel wound open. That would be pretty messy. But if we give you another potion, you might be fine enough. Hmm. Yeah, let's do that."

"...Uh, I highly doubt that is a good idea. Only one day has passed since the last one, and it would be beyond risky to take a second so soon," Caitlyn replied, concerned for herself. But Jinx just waved her off, brushing her concerns aside.

" _Relax_ , Hat Lady. You'll be fine, trust me!" Jinx reassured as she moved over to the corner desk. The bag of medicine supplies that she used the day before was still handily left on top. Pulling the second of the three vials from within it, she walked back over to the bed, handing it over to the wary Sheriff.

"...You do realize that no matter how many times you say that, I will still refuse to trust you, right?" Caitlyn muttered, only to receive a roll of the violet eyes in return.

"And _you_ realize that I really don't care, right?" the criminal countered with a chuckle. "You're drinking it no matter what, even if I have to chug it down your throat myself. I didn't spend all of yesterday night and this morning working on that wheelchair for nothing, you know. I want to get my worth out of it, so you are taking that potion," Jinx stated resolutely.

Caitlyn scoffed at the command, obviously not appreciating it and was about to argue back. However, as Jinx matched her gaze in an intense stare, the words died down in the challenge. And as smile met scowl, violet met blue, and criminal met Sheriff, they found the other to be just as adamant as themselves and as such, neither backed down. Neither _could_ back down. At least, not at first.

However, after a good two minutes passed, Caitlyn found herself somehow faltering. And after several seconds passed, she finally had to avert her eyes, giving another scoff as she broke the contact. Not desiring to give Jinx the satisfaction of seeing her expression, the Sheriff turned to face the window.

"Fine. But if this ends up being the death of me, I swear I'll haunt you until the end of time," Caitlyn threatened.

But Jinx wasn't fazed at her threat and even had the audacity to giggle at it. "Yeah, yeah. I get it, you're a grumpy Hat Lady. Just drink it already."

Sighing, Caitlyn complied and popped the cork off the vial. Holding her breath for a moment, she downed the contents, feeling the familiar taste down her throat. Steadying herself, she prepared for the effects of it and after a moment, the burning effects finally kicked in and she felt her body warm. However, unsurprisingly, it was much more manageable than the time prior. Just as she expected, after already taking one potion, as well as having a full day's worth of healing and rest, the effects were nowhere near as intense.

But she was still concerned because, while the instant effects of it were dulled down, having so much magic coursing through her system was dangerous and if her body doesn't flush it out successfully within the next few days, she risks suffering extreme side effects or even becoming addicted to the magic. And that was especially scary considering magic addictions were rumored to be both quicker to obtain and quicker to kill than any form of drug addiction.

However, for now, as her body is starting to come down from the potion's effects, she doesn't feel any different. It's a good sign at the very least, but she has to be wary over the days to come.

"There, I took the bloody potion. Are you happy now?" she muttered rhetorically with annoyance mildly coloring her tone.

"Yup!" Jinx cheered in response, not at all catching, or simply ignoring Caitlyn's sarcastic tone.

Rolling her eyes at the criminal's everlasting elation, the Sheriff moved on. "Now then, how do you suppose I get into the wheelchair? I still can't exactly sit up."

"Oh, that's the easy part! Here, just sit still and let me do all the work."

And with that, Jinx moved close to the bed, placed her hands on Caitlyn's left half. Gently, she wrapped them around the Sheriff's legs and shoulders in bridal fashion, careful not to place too much weight on the right side.

"Hey, can you hold on to me with your left arm, to make things easier," she asked as she started to lift Caitlyn up.

Wordlessly, Caitlyn complied and held on to Jinx's shoulder, allowing herself to easily be lifted. And without too much difficulty, Jinx moved her over and lowered her into the wheelchair, careful not to put too much stress on her injuries. After securing Caitlyn in it, Jinx examined the Sheriff, making sure that she hadn't disturbed her too much.

"Are you okay? Nothing hurt at all?" Jinx asked.

Caitlyn shook her head at that, however, reassuring her. "I seem to be fine to proceed. Nothing tore at any rate."

"Good!" Jinx responded with a wide grin. "Now we can go have some fun!"

Rolling her eyes at the girl's infectious enthusiasm, Caitlyn couldn't help but smile herself as she let herself be pushed through the door and into the hallway.

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

 **Well, I really didn't expect this to be delayed so long. Had a lot going on last week and couldn't put much time into this update. And with how long the chapter started turning out to be (I had to split some of it off for the next chapter), I simply couldn't get it out until today. But if things go well, I should be able to get the next update out on time next week, hopefully.**

 **Oh, and happy Thanksgiving for those who celebrate it!**

* * *

 **Reader Responses**

 **BrokenGears - Thanks! One of the major things I wanted to focus on with this remake was my attention to detail. I wanted to make the setting much more realistic and appealing to add more depth to it.**

 **EsperExpert - Glad to hear that! It makes me pretty happy to know that people have been coming over from the original to reread it in this!**

 **Nyx Sigma ZERO - Yeah, that's what I felt too. Also, overall, I want to somewhat slow things between Cait and Jinx down more in this remake and play more to their characters. I hope that by doing so, I can level their relationship progression and make it happen not as random and spontaneous as it was in the original, but at the same time, retain a nice pace for the story.**


	5. Chapter 5: Pancakes and Secrets

Silent as she was pushed through the hallway of Jinx's home, Caitlyn took the time to observe the new settings of the building.

When she had been carried through it previously, she did not take the chance to examine it fully. Mostly as a result of it having been late at night, and Jinx only bringing her straight to and from the restroom directly opposite her room. As such, she hadn't tried to inspect anything, or even really have the time to. However, this time, as she was taken past the restroom she was able to notice two new features to the relatively small T-shaped hallway.

The first of which, opposite to the side that held her bedroom, was a door to what she presumed to be another bedroom. And beyond that, in her second glance, she also noticed that several small open windows lined the wall between the two rooms, the second feature to the hallway that she had missed before. And as Jinx pushed her further along, she even managed to see outside the windows, gaining a new perspective of the building that she has been cooped up in for these past couple of days.

From what she could tell from her low position in the wheelchair, the windows revealed the building's outdoor stairwell and courtyard. And while the scene was admittedly rather insignificant in itself, it gave her both a figurative and a literal breath of fresh air. One that was definitely well needed after being trapped in her room so long.

However, the sight also made her long to be outside again, much to her displeasure. She was always more an outdoorsy person in spirit, despite her career keeping her busy at work in an office more often than not-definitely more than she would ever prefer-, and typically found it enjoyable to go for walks and stroll the city whenever she had the opportunity. And being practically caged in like this did nothing but amplify her desire to be in the open air, but she could only sigh in despondence.

...But maybe, once she escaped all this madness-provided she _could_ even find escape-, she could go out and live life in the outside again. And maybe she might take the time to go on a safari as well. After all, she had always loved combing through the jungles south of Piltover on hunts, just like the ones her father used to take her on in her days of youth.

Yes, she felt that would be a perfectly refreshing change of pace from all this chaos she has been experiencing of late, and would allow her to recuperate both physically and mentally.

However, she wasn't allowed to linger on the thought for too long, unfortunately, with Jinx continuing to push her deeper through the home and past the windows.

But as they turned the corner leading into the main room, Caitlyn decided to returned her gaze to the other bedroom's door once more, in wonderment of what lied beyond it. There was nothing overly special about it at first glance, but as her inexplicable curiosity drew her attention closer to it, she noticed that there was tiny, minute scratches on the upper half of it. They were long and vertical, almost as if someone had dug their fingernails down it in horror or...anguish. But why would Jinx ever do such a thing? Did they belong to someone else? Or was Caitlyn's intuition faulty, and they were caused by something else entirely?

She didn't know, but as interest in it all started overtaking her, she decided to ask Jinx about it. She found no harm in doing so, so long as she took her questions slow and asked the right ones.

"Jinx," she started, calling out to gain the girl's attention. She only received a small hum in response, but that was more than enough to let her know that she had successfully obtained it. "What is that second room. Is it just another bedroom or something of the sort?" she mildly questioned.

"Oh, uh...yup! It's just a bedroom." She heard the girl reply. But it was fairly obvious to Caitlyn that it was a hollow response, and a rather nervous sounding one at that. And even if the Sheriff didn't have such an expertly trained detective's mind, it was clear to her that Jinx was hiding something.

But as to what it was, Caitlyn really had no way to know, but to ask Jinx directly or explore the room herself. And as the latter was impossible so long as she remained incapacitated and Jinx was present, she decided to go with the former, and press further with her questions.

"I see. Well then, can you tell me what's _inside_ it?"

It was a question simple enough on the surface, but she wanted to see if Jinx would slip in trying to answer it, while simultaneously wondering what was so important about that room that Jinx felt the need to hide details about it.

"Umm..nothing really special. Just a...bed and a couple of other things. But I guess that's pretty obvious. I mean it is called a _bed_ -room, right?" Jinx murmured with a chuckle.

But unlike her usual grin, the smile she now wore didn't quite reach her eyes. It was somewhat forced, and it was something that Caitlyn easily noticed with a narrowed gaze.

"Indeed. That it is," Caitlyn returned with a hum, letting the conversation drop. She didn't find it worth continuing anymore, as Jinx evidently would not be sharing whatever secrets lied in the room. But she was not concerned in the slightest.

She will find out Jinx's secrets eventually and not only just the ones that lied in that room. No, she plans to discover every skeleton in the criminal's closet. All she needs is patience.

Deciding to ignore the now awkward and somewhat tense silence, Caitlyn took the opportunity to take in the new sights to Jinx's home, as Jinx finally brought her into the main living room.

Caitlyn had to admit that it was rather surprising to see the quality that the room held. It was...very unexpected, to say the least.

If about a month or so ago, had someone asked her what form of dwelling she'd believed Jinx to live in, she would have without a doubt said a broken, run down place on the outskirts of Piltover where only the poverty-stricken and the lowlifes stayed.

And while she still had no clue as to the true location of the home, Caitlyn quickly found that she was completely wrong about the state of Jinx's dwelling.

While not fancy or extravagant by any means, Jinx's living room was surprisingly... _normal_. Where Caitlyn had imagined to find inadequate excuses for furniture-if any at all, really-, she instead found moderately decent fittings.

The first of which the room encompassed was a couch, with a smaller love seat to accompany it, set together in an angle in the center of the room. A small table with a lamp on top formed the corner between them, and an entertainment center stood opposite on the wall facing it all. And to Caitlyn's mild curiosity, she found several, well used electronic devices on top of it, with the most prominent being a moderately sized hexavision set. She briefly wondered if it was what Jinx used to occupy her down time with, but let the thoughts pass as she continued her examination of the room as a whole.

Looking to the left, opposite of all the other furniture and such, Caitlyn noticed a small kitchen was attached to the room, separated by a chest-high bar counter. Just like the rest of the room, it was surprisingly neat. At least, much more than Caitlyn would have expected.

It wasn't much, but had a cozy atmosphere to it, just as the rest of apartment had. Thinking it all was rather calming to Caitlyn in a certain manner. She couldn't quite put her finger on why, though.

"So, um," Jinx started off, interrupting her thoughts, and breaking the silence for the first time in minutes. "Do you see something you like or whatever? Cause you've kinda been looking around my place with that whole 'silent and focused' look that you do for a couple of minutes now."

"Oh," Caitlyn murmured awkwardly, not realizing just how long she had spent analyzing the room. "...I was merely curious...My apologies."

"S'all good. Don't know why you're apologizing, though. It's not like you were doing anything wrong. But uh, are you hungry? I know I said we'd do something fun, but I'm _starving_. I don't think I've eaten all day, and I know you haven't either, so what say you and me get something to eat?"

"...I suppose I am a bit peckish, so sure. What do you have in mind?" Caitlyn responded.

She didn't know how skilled Jinx was in terms of the culinary arts, so she wasn't expecting much. But after spending this much time with the criminal, she supposed she really should have at least expected an eager "Pancakes!" in reply. After all, leave it to Jinx of all people to desire a sugar filled meal this late in the day.

"...What? Pancakes? ...You do realize that the sun is currently setting and not rising, correct? Who eats pancakes in the evening?"

"I do! Pancakes are _universal_! They are like the only food that you can eat anytime and anywhere and never get bored or sick of them. They're awesome! Why _wouldn't_ you want to eat them at night?" Jinx returned, fervently.

"...because I simply do not wish to eat a breakfast meal for my dinner? Has it even ever occurred to you that not everyone sees pancakes in the same light, and cannot bring themselves to eat them whenever and wherever?"

Watching as Jinx frowned, it was apparent that no, it had not actually to the girl that not everyone enjoyed pancakes as much as she. Seeing her face scrunch up over something so absurd couldn't help but bring a grin to the Sheriff, obviously annoying the criminal more.

"Pfft, whatever. You don't know what you're talking about. You're just a square Hat Lady who only eats boring, square foods. Well too bad for you because tonight we're having pancakes, whether you like them or not. Capiche?" Jinx huffed out with a pout.

Despite her bold claims, it almost sounded to Caitlyn that Jinx expected her to refuse. But rolling her eyes at the girl's ridiculousness, Caitlyn's grin only grew, and she found herself unable to deny the girl her desires.

"Fine, fine. Just go ahead and make them already. Daylight is waning and my stomach isn't getting any fuller," the Sheriff stated with a false air of boredom. She wasn't about to make her humor evident as Jinx would get excited and full of herself.

But regardless, almost as if her words were a switch and Jinx, a lightbulb, the girl's expression instantly morphed into a widespread grin.

"Yes! Alright, here, I'll get you the hexavision remote, and you make yourself comfortable while I go whip us up some of my world famous pancakes!"

Still silently mirthful, Caitlyn did as instructed and watched the girl scurry around, eager to make a delicious meal. Left idle to her thoughts, she found it peculiar how the interactions between them could be tense and uncomfortable one moment, then exciting and amiable the next, as this afternoon had showcased. Perhaps it was an effect of Jinx's nature, she supposed.

Thinking on it, she realized that she had never had any form of relationship like this in the past, and in result, she didn't really know how to accurately respond to each and every facet of Jinx's personality. However, after the few days she has spent here, one thing she has found was that it is much easier to simply go with the flow and stop opposing Jinx.

By cooperating with her and taking things slowly instead, Caitlyn found she received much better results and she found that she could also build Jinx's trust this way. Now all she has to do is remain calm and collected, not allowing herself to become too comfortable, and eventually the cards will line up for her to escape and easily land the criminal in a cell.

For now though, she had nothing to do but to sit back and relax...

* * *

"A knife? What do you need a knife for?" Jinx asked, through her food stuffed jaws.

Caitlyn had to roll her eyes at the ridiculous, uncivilized display of Jinx's eating patterns. The girl apparently thought shoveling large chunks of pancake from fork to her mouth was the proper way to eat, much to the Sheriff's disgust.

"Please. I am not an unkempt miscreant like yourself. I am a refined lady of the noble Piltovian district, Atlas, and I will not bring myself to eat pancakes with _only_ _just a fork_ ," Caitlyn returned, with narrowed eyes. However, Jinx merely scoffed at her, not at all caring or respecting her words.

"Pfft, refined? More like snooty and uppity, and besides, have you ever _tried_ eating it like this? It's pretty fun if you ask me."

"Well I am not asking you. And no, I have never attempted to eat in such a barbaric manner, and nor will I ever try to do so. I eat for nourishment and necessity. Not for the 'fun' of it," Caitlyn replied, annoyed at Jinx's uncouth nature.

But at her words, Jinx could only shake her head, as if the Sheriff said something fundamentally wrong.

"See, that's your problem, Hat Lady. You never do _anything_ for the fun of it. All you ever do is just boring ol' Hat Lady jobs in your boring Hat Lady life."

Arching a brow, Caitlyn scoffed herself at that, feeling offended. "Excuse me? My life is not boring, or square, or any other ridiculous adjective you would like to pin to me! I live a delightfully entertaining life, thank you very much. And yes, I _do_ in fact do things purely for fun."

"Oh really?" Jinx returned with an unconvinced smirk. "What is the last thing you did that was even _close_ to sounding fun?"

"I did...erm, I mean I went... _I've done_ …" Caitlyn frowned as she realized that she can't actually remember doing anything remotely entertaining in quite a while. So many of her days have been filled purely by work or work related topics. So much so, she hasn't even gotten a chance to think of anything _actually_ fun to do.

"...I read that book you left for me?" she finally managed to supply. But as Jinx started giggling at her, she could tell it was far from a proper response.

"Are you kidding me, Hat Lady? The only recent fun thing that you've done was read a book that _I_ gave you. Something that you only did because you actually had nothing else to do? That's so pathetic!" Jinx teased as her giggles became full blown laughter.

Reddening in embarrassment, Caitlyn could only scowl at the girl's mirth. Taking a moment, she had to gather her words, lest she say something else embarrassing. All the while though, she had to withstand the infernal giggles sounding over and over. And after a full minute of suffering Jinx's chuckles, she exploded.

"Well maybe if you didn't feel the need to destroy half the city every chance you get, I would be able to enjoy my spare time more often. But as it stands, I have to respond to your damn rampages everyday and when it's not that, its paperwork covering your damage toll. Or at least it was like that before I ended up _here_ , where I can do absolutely nothing entertaining at all!"

"Hey don't blame me. It's not my fault that I get bored easy and buildings are fun to blow up. Maybe if you guys make them look less stupid looking, I could try to not blow them up as much." Jinx returned, finally ceasing her laughter. But as Caitlyn raised an unconvinced brow, she spoke again with a much lower murmur.

"...Well, no promises."

Shaking her head at the girl, Caitlyn remembered that she was still hungry and arguing about what she does entertainment with Jinx would not satisfy her stomach.

"Ugh, there still is the matter of my needing a knife to eat, regardless of whether or not I have fun in my life," she stated dryly. "And if I'm being forced to eat your dinner pancakes, the very least you could do is grant me my desired utensil, could you not?"

"Alright, fine. I'll get you your stupid knife." Jinx muttered in return, obviously not happy to get up from her meal to get Caitlyn the utensil, despite only syrup soaked remnants remaining at this point.

But after she retrieved said utensil and turned back to the kitchen table, her previous annoyed pout was replaced by an expression filled with curiosity. Wondering about the sudden change in demeanor, Caitlyn was about to question Jinx about it.

However, before she could even utter a syllable, Jinx beat her to the point.

"Oh hey, Hat Lady! Have you ever played a video game before?" She questioned with an uncomfortable amount of glee in her voice.

"A video game? ...No, I can't say I have. Why do you ask?" Caitlyn returned. She was confused as to where Jinx was going with this new conversation, but she figured nothing harmful could come from humoring it. Hopefully...

"You said that you don't have enough fun in your life, right?"

"...No? I never explicitly stated that," the Sheriff said, huffing at the fairly ridiculous statement.

"Well your mouth might've not said so, but your eyes were saying, 'Jinx, please help! I'm going to die from boredom, and only your awesomeness can save me!'" Jinx animatedly responded.

She gave an exaggerated faint to punctuate her words, as if she saw Caitlyn as no more than a dainty maiden in need of rescue. Deadpanning, the Sheriff could only stare blankly at the girl in reply, unable to give any other response save for an annoyed,"...Really?" in question.

However, as the girl turned, looking at the Sheriff's unamused expression, Jinx only shrugged, as if she didn't care about annoying Caitlyn at all.

"What? That's what your eyes were saying, not me," Jinx stated, as if it were a proper defense.

Unable to continue with her annoyance, Caitlyn decided to just shake her head, and let the insulting display pass.

"...Where are you going with this Jinx?"

"Huh? Oh yeah! Like I was saying. If you're so bored, we should play a video game! They always entertain me a bit when I get bored as hell, so I know that you'll have a blast! So what do you say?" Jinx asked. But the way she worded her request and the tone she used implied that it was much less a question, and much more a statement. So with a sigh, Caitlyn realized, she really could only say yes in response.

"...even if I refused, you'd probably talk me into it anyways with all of your irritating persistency. So I will save us both the time and effort and just begrudgingly accept now."

"Yay-"

"-But I will only do so if you leave me in peace while I eat! If you disturb me at all, I will be returning to my room no matter what you desire. Even if I have to push myself back there _by myself._ Understood?" If she had to heed Jinx's inane requests, she felt she had to get some form of compensation in return. And some peace and quiet would be fairly ideal right now.

"What?" Jinx returned with a slight pout. "...Fine, I guess I'll just go set up everything while I wait for you. But you better not take forever! I've already had to wait like an hour in you already and I'm getting impatient!" the girl huffed, only to receive a deadpan in return.

"...Impatient? That implies that you have been patient in the first place," Caitlyn muttered sarcastically.

"And besides, considering you've still yet to bring me that knife, and have been delaying my meal in result, the only one to blame for the time wasted is yourself."

Upon hearing Caitlyn's words, and realizing that she had not, actually in fact, handed over the utensil that rested in her pale palm over to the Sheriff, Jinx couldn't help but blush in embarrassment.

"...Whatever. Just hurry up and eat slow poke!" Jinx replying embarrassed, as she handed over the plastic knife, only to most past rapidly as soon as it was safely accepted.

Watching her as she scurried off, Caitlyn could only chuckle.

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

Hi, I'm not dead.

It's been quite a while since I've last updated the story, unfortunately, I know. However, I've had some personal things come up the past few months (nothing bad, don't worry) that really kept me from putting all the time and effort I needed into getting chapters done.

However, I am hoping that things have calmed down enough that I can get back to working on things. As I have planned out the next couple of chapters, and started working on them, I am quite excited for the weeks to come. And while I am not so certain I can realistically return to a weekly update schedule, I will do my best to do so, with the same dates (Tues/Wed uploads).

At the very least, I will try for bi-weekly uploads, as I feel I can and should be able to reasonably do that.

Thanks for reading as always, and I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Also, I will probably be lowering the amount of reader responses that I do, as most of the time, I can't really come up with a decent response besides a simple thank you and I say that anyways. But please do note that I **thoroughly** appreciate every form of response whether it be favorites, follows, reviews, etc., and I will address any direct questions or criticism about the story as before.


	6. Chapter 6: Icebreakers

"Hey Hat Lady!"

"Huh…?"

Caitlyn, who had been idly reading a book on her bed before the bluenette stormed into her room and shouted for her attention, looked up as Jinx flopped down on her bed.

With a sigh, she knew she would have to close the book, as she was sure she'd be unable to read it in Jinx's energetic and very distracting company.

 _Oh, what a shame. Just when it was starting to get interesting..._

"...Yes, Jinx? What is it? And please tell me it is nothing overly significant as I would like to return to my book," she replied with a raised brow.

"...I'm bored!" Jinx whined in response, drawling out the word to several syllables.

"...I see. So it's not important at all. I'll be returning to my book then," Caitlyn deadpanned, reaching over to retrieve her book from the nightstand. But as she picked it up and opened it, Jinx whined some more, attempting to once again gather the Sheriff's attention.

"What? Oh come on, you don't care about how mind-numbingly bored I am?"

"You are always bored. Why should I?" Caitlyn returned, not even glancing up at the girl.

"Aww, don't be so mean. We could play a game or something. I mean, aren't you bored out your skull too?"

"Actually, for the first time since I woke up here, I do not feel bored at all. I am rather content with this book that you got me yesterday," Caitlyn admitted.

Jinx had gone out the day prior and bought-or stole as Caitlyn felt was much more likely, despite Jinx's adamant protests against such being the case-several supplies. Among which were some comfortable evening wear outfits, so that Caitlyn would not only have the bandages and plain shorts to cover herself, as well as the book she has since then been reading.

Not to lie, she was fairly surprised that Jinx brought her such things and although she'd never admit it aloud, she was actually grateful to Jinx. Because of the book and clean new clothes, she has been much more relaxed than she has felt in quite a long time.

But apparently her content state meant absolutely nothing to the other girl, whose face quickly morphed into a pout at the Sheriff's words.

"Aww, come on Hat Lady! This boredom is _killing_ me. Please?"

Pleading violet eyes cut deep into the Sheriff somehow. So much so, that Caitlyn found that she couldn't deny the girl even if she wanted to. Sighing, she found herself raising a hand to rub her brow as she conceded.

"Fine, fine. What do you have in mind, Jinx? What, do you want to play that one video game again or something?" she questioned, relenting to the girl's request.

"Huh, video game? Oh you mean Call to Action, don't you? Yeah, no thanks. And I thought I told you that I'm never playing that with you again. You cheat too much in it," Jinx responded with an accusing glare.

"Cheat? Well, I see _someone_ is still sore from losing to a novice," Caitlyn replied, unable to hide a smug smirk at the girl's glare.

Even after three days had passed since the day, it seemed Jinx was still upset that Caitlyn had somehow bested her in a video game despite the Sheriff's inexperience.

If Caitlyn was being honest, she truly had no clue how she had done it either. Even though the game somewhat resembled the hextech simulations that the Piltover Police Academy often had new recruits play through-something that she _was_ familiar with personally-it was still a far cry from anything Caitlyn had ever done before.

So her beating Jinx meant that she was remarkably a natural at that particular video game, or Jinx was just exceptionally bad at it. Either way though, Jinx was not happy about the outcome. Not at all.

"I didn't lose. You just cheated! There's no way you can be that good on your first try. There's no way that _anyone_ can be that good on their first try. I think you even shot me through a wall!" the girl huffed in protest.

Caitlyn couldn't help but chuckle with mirth at that.

"So you say. I, however, would like to believe myself to be a quick learner and an _excellent_ shot no matter the medium, in reality or otherwise."

"Yeah yeah, whatever. All I know is that you cheated. Plain and simple."

" _Sure_ ," Caitlyn sarcastically returned. "I feel that, more likely, your own poor skill was the one to cheat you out of win. Not me. But at any rate, regardless of all that, you still haven't told me what game you wish to play, if not that video game."

"Bleh, I don't know. It could be rock papers scissors for all I care. Just _something_." Jinx replied, still seemingly annoyed.

"Hmm. Well I don't know what we can do either, but I'd prefer something more than a simple game like that, if I must play a game at all."

"Ugh, fine," Jinx said with a sigh. Crossing her arms and closing her violet eyes, she then took on a focused stance, as if coming up with some form of idea required deep concentration for her.

Finding the display rather humorous, Caitlyn silently watched in anticipation, wondering what Jinx would eventually come up with. And after a moment, it seemed that all the concentration proved fruitful, for Jinx quickly snapped up with an wide-eyed display.

"I know! We can play an icebreaker game!" She finally shouted.

"...A what?" Caitlyn questioned with a raised brow, wondering what the epiphany Jinx shouted out meant.

"An icebreaker game! You know, like a game where we ask each other icebreaker questions like the ones that people ask on their first date and stuff," Jinx explained, and after realizing that her choice of example was rather awkward, she hastily added, "But uh, without the whole... _dating_ part."

"Right," Caitlyn returned, ignoring Jinx's slip up, but mentally chuckling at it, "Well I suppose I don't have much to lose in playing, so long as the questions are not overly crude or invasive."

"No, no. It'll just be simple, innocent questions. I promise!"

"As much as I'd like to comment on how you and innocent don't belong together in a sentence, go on, ask away."

"Alright! Hmm, for starters I guess I'll ask something simple. Like…what's your favorite color?"

"Purple, specifically the same shade of my hat and favorite outfit," Caitlyn answered plainly.

"Oh, that one dress you're always in? Huh, well I guess that explains _why_ you wear that so much. Favorite color and favorite outfit."

"Indeed. Now then, what about you? What is _your_ favorite color?"

"Mine? Uh well, my favorite color is probably blue, but pink is a close second. Like _real_ close. Like choosing favorites between your firstborn and second kid close. Wait, now pink's my favorite. No blue. No...I don't know..."

"Uh conflicted, much?" Caitlyn joked at the girl's words. By the way she sounded, one could almost assume that deciding between the two colors deeply troubled her, and it was rather humorous to the Sheriff. After all, it was such a ridiculous and inane problem to get worked up over, one that is definitely not worth the time worrying about. But for whatever reason, Jinx was acting like the decision was completely eating her up.

" _Yes_! It's so hard to make up my mind about it sometimes. Like some days, pink comes on top when I'm mowing things down with Pow-Pow, but then the next day, Fishbones reminds me just how much I love blue. Ugh, I can't ever decide and it sucks," Jinx whined, to which, Caitlyn could only chuckle in response at.

"Oh what tragic and pitiful person you are. Whatever shall you do?" Caitlyn asked rhetorically, with mirth evident in her tone.

"I don't know, but it feels so bad. It's like choosing between my babies. I can't just do that."

Rolling her eyes as the girl slumped down, Caitlyn wondered if Jinx forgot they were in the midst of playing a game with all her melodrama.

"As much fun as watching you sulk is, are you ever going to take your turn and ask another question?" She decided to ask, vocalizing her thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, right!" Jinx said in return, spontaneously perking up. Her complete 180 had the Sheriff shaking her head in humor, as Caitlyn wondered how in the world Jinx could at times instantly flipped the script like that.

"Uh, let's see. How about...your hat? Yeah, what's so special about that stupid looking thing. You always were it wherever you go, but it's so old fashioned and sticks out like a sore thumb. Actually, it's how I found you that day I kidnapped you."

"...Really? Well I do suppose that, in hindsight, it was a rather silly idea to bring it along on a covert reconnaissance mission." Caitlyn muttered with a roll of her eyes at her own foolishness.

"But at any rate, the reason I bring it along wherever I go is because it has great sentimental value to me. It was once my paternal grandmother's, worn by her at the ball she first met my grandfather at. And as I had I fancied it dearly as a young girl, she passed it down to me, and I have worn it practically ever since."

"Oh, so it's a heirloom then? Instead of getting a old watch or necklace, you got a top hat?"

"Indeed. And since my mother outfitted it with lenses, it is suitable for combat as well. Not to mention the fact that I have worn it for so long that I can't exactly picture myself without it," Caitlyn finished.

But as an afterthought, she added, "...Speaking of which, I would appreciate having it back," when she remembered that she _wasn't_ wearing it currently. And with a frown, she realized that had almost completely forgotten about the fact that she has been hatless for a couple of weeks now.

She didn't know whether forgetting about it or actually not having it at all felt worse, but either way, she was not happy reflecting upon it.

"Oh, uh, haha. About that…" Jinx nervously trailed off, scratching the back of her head.

Caitlyn narrowed her eyes at that, wondering what the girl was going on about. But with a sudden realization, she remembered that she had been wearing her hat when she was crushed in Jinx's ambush. And that meant, it was likely also damaged. Possibly beyond repair…

"...Jinx. Do you mean to tell me it was crushed-"

"-No, no! It wasn't crushed. Well...not that badly-"

"Jinx!"

"Woah, relax, Hat Lady! Don't worry, I fixed it! It's all fine and and dandy now. Even practically good as new now! No need to get all antsy and panicky." Jinx hurriedly responded in hopes of reassuring the Sheriff. But while Caitlyn did visually relax slightly, her glare still stayed fixated on Jinx, burning holes in the girl.

"Then why have you not yet given it back to me?" Caitlyn uttered slowly, demanding an answer.

"Oh. That's uh, because...reasons…" Jinx weakly replied.

"...What reasons!"

"Uh, you know, reasons reasons! Look, don't worry about it, I'll give it to you tomorrow. I just have to...finish some things first."

"Things? What things could you possibly be doing? I swear if you modify it at all-"

"I promise I won't mess with it! Just...be patient for a day, and you'll be back to your hat wearing Hat Lady self. 'K?"

"...Fine," Caitlyn returned, begrudgingly. She hated it, but she knew she really couldn't do anything _but_ wait for Jinx to return it to her.

"Alright, so um. It's your turn, I think."

"Are we really still playing this damn game?" Caitlyn scoffed, still lingering on her captive hat.

"Yup!" Jinx returned, not sparing a single care about Caitlyn's attachment to her hat.

"Ugh, very well. Hmm."

"How did…erm..." Caitlyn started, attempting to come up with something.

But as she looked around the room, she found that she really couldn't come up with anything decent. However, as her vision eventually returned to the bed, she spotted a long blue braid resting against her leg, and somehow, it piqued her interest enough to ask about it.

"How did your hair get to be that color, or is it just uniquely natural?"

"My hair?" Jinx responded as she grabbed one of the braids in question.

"Oh, yeah, it's all natural. Well, probably. It got it from my mom, but she always told me that she didn't know if our hair color was actually natural or if someone just swimmed in Zaun water for too long and passed some kind of mutation down to us."

"...How interesting?" Caitlyn murmured in reply, not really knowing how else to respond to that. However, she found that she was quickly growing bored of the game, and she did not particularly focus much on Jinx's answer. Truthfully, she didn't even much care about the answer at all.

Well...at least she _hadn't_ cared much, until the last part of Jinx's answer caught up with her, causing her to dumbly ask, "Wait, you had a mother?"

In hindsight, she supposed she should have expected a deadpan from Jinx in return. However, she felt it was a perfectly valid question to ask.

...For the most part, that is.

 _Okay, perhaps I could have phrased that a bit more intelligently…_

" _No_ , I spawned from a random egg off the oil field beaches of Zaun," came Jinx's sarcastic response, with her giggling immediately after. "Of course I had a mom, Hat Lady! What kind of question is that? Like did you even think about it when you asked it?"

"...well, yes, and don't be so ridiculous. I merely meant that I have always believed you to have been raised a motherless orphan. And I also believed that being raised in such a manner played a part in why you are so twisted now."

"Well, you're sorta right there, I guess. I _was_ orphaned and it probably is why I'm all messed up in the head now, but it's not like I _didn't_ have parents once upon a time. They're just...kinda gone now."

Jinx frowned as she finished her words. It was pretty obvious to the Sheriff that the girl was rather uncomfortable with divulging that information, but despite it, Caitlyn couldn't help but wonder how exactly they died.

"What-"

"Ah ah ah, that's a question that I'm not going to answer. I know what you were going to ask: 'What happened to them?' or 'What killed them?'. Right?"

"...Well, yes. That was basically what I planned on asking."

"Yeah, I thought so, but I'm not going to tell you. Nope, lips are sealed. It's a little bit too personal, or _invasive_ as you'd say," Jinx finished with a matter-of-fact tone that left Caitlyn little room for debate, causing the Sheriff to concede with a sigh.

"...you're right. I apologize," Caitlyn returned awkwardly. She felt disappointed and annoyed that she wouldn't learn what happened, but it was probably for the best anyways. It _was_ rather rude to ask such a question of that nature to someone. Or at least, it is when one isn't on personal terms with another. After all, had her own parents been killed, she would have taken extreme offense to Jinx probing her about them. So as such, regardless of her thirst for secrets and knowledge, she'd have to sate her curiosity for the moment.

"At any rate, it's your turn then, I suppose."

"Yep it is, and I'm pretty sure that you owe me _two_ answers now," Jinx declared, holding two fingers up to pronounce her words.

"Very well. Ask away then."

"Alright, well first, what about _your_ hair? Purple hair ain't all that common either."

"Indigo, not purple. I'd like to point that fact out specifically. But I have the same story as you regarding my hair color. Well, more or less, at least. It's rather uncommon, but completely natural, and I share it with my own mother, as well as with her father, my grandfather."

"Oh? That's neat. I guess, we have something in common then," Jinx awkwardly responded, seemingly unsatisfied with Caitlyn's answer.

"...What? Why do you sound so displeased with my answer?"

"I don't know. I just...kinda expected something more than that. All you said was that it is basically the same case as mine. It couldn't have been made that color from a super rare genetic mutation or something. And it couldn't be some kind of fashion statement either. Nope, just boring old genetics. I mean I guess I shouldn't have expected you of all people to dye your hair or any of that stuff, but still."

"I'm not sure why you would ever expect anything of the sorts. Honestly, do I even seem like someone who would dye hair vibrant, unnecessary colors?" Caitlyn asked, mildly annoyed.

"Uh, no. I guess not. But I dunno. You can never really tell sometimes. And I was kinda hoping you'd prove me wrong and not be boring for a change. So much for that, though."

"Well I'm truly sorry to disappoint. Perhaps I should dye it a rainbow gradient and braid it with neon stripes. Would that be more exciting for you?" Caitlyn asked sarcastically, only to get an equally sarcastic "Yup!" in response.

Rolling her eyes at the girl, but unable to hide a smirk, Caitlyn decided to move on. "Isn't it still your turn?"

"Oh yeah, right. Um..." Jinx murmured, thinking of a question. "Oh, hey! You know how you asked about my parents, right?"

"...Yes? What of it?"

"Well what about yours? What are your folks like? Are they just as boring as you, or are they cool folks that adopted you?"

"What? I am not adopted and no, I would not say that they live much more exciting lives than I do," Caitlyn returned, feeling rather offended at the notion of her being adopted.

"Bleh. Should've expected that. Of course you come from a family of boring people," Jinx muttered with a sigh. "So, what do they do at least?"

If the lowered enthusiasm was any indication, it appeared to Caitlyn that all of Jinx's prior interest in her parents was all but gone now. But despite the girl deflating, or possibly because of it, Caitlyn found herself chuckling a bit.

"Well, if you still care enough to know, my father works as a politician and sits on the city council as an Alderman-"

"-boring-"

"-and as for my mother, she is an inventor and engineer by trade, and teaches engineering classes on occasion to schools all over Piltover and other major cities of Valoran."

"Also bor- _wait_ , did you just say that she invents and is an engineer?"

"...Yes?"

"Oh, she's the complete opposite of boring then!" Jinx remarked, perking back up.

"What field is she in?" she asked Caitlyn. But the Sheriff, who had never really acknowledged engineering in the slightest, could only respond with, "Field? What do you mean," in reply.

"Engineering field, duh." Jinx stated, as if it was obvious. But as Caitlyn could only respond with "I'm...not sure," it became clear to Jinx that the Sheriff had no true clue to the different fields of engineering.

"Wait, you don't know about engineering fields? Hextechnical engineering? Biological engineering? Chemical engineering? Mechanical engineering? Any of those ring a bell?"

"...No, I can't say they do. Though I suppose now should be the point where I state that I have never particularly shown an interest in engineering in any shape or form. In fact, had I not taken the career I had, I likely would have followed in my father's footsteps and because a politician, despite my mother's repeated urging to become an engineer like her."

"Really? You would've turned down an awesome career for such a stuffy one in politics? Man, you really are boring."

Caitlyn rolled her eyes at the insult. "I have no innate talent for engineering and even if I wanted to make it my trade, the traits needed to be successful as an engineer have never been my forte. So yes, I _would've_ traded a risky career in engineering for something I knew I could have at least done decently in."

"Ugh, whatever. Do you at least know what your mom has made?"

"No, not specifically. All I know is that she is apparently well known and respected in the technological community."

"Wait, well known and respected? Huh. I've probably heard of her then, if she's all that important. What's her name?"

"Minerva."

"...Minerva...wait...your last name, isn't it Rosen? That's what people call you, right? Sheriff Caitlyn Rosen?"

"...Yes. Why do you ask?"

"Ugh, because I already know who your mom is. I just somehow forgot that your mom is actually Minerva Rosen. Like I've even seen news articles with you and her in them, but it just didn't cross my mind to connect the dots. It's like my brain didn't even want to believe that someone so awesome like her could be related to someone so bland and fun killing like you."

"...Insult aside, I'm fairly surprised you have heard of her, and have seen news articles about her. In all honesty, I'm surprised you even read the news at all. After all, I wouldn't have pegged you for a person to follow worldly events."

"Pfft, no, I don't follow it really. I just see articles every now and then, and mostly for the technology section. Oh, and heard of her? Talk about an understatement. She was the one to create the first successful third-gen hextech engine, and she also helped revolutionized the magic infusion process to make purer, more refined hextech energy. Oh, that's not even to mention how she practically established the mass transit systems of both Zaun and Piltover among other things. She's practically a living legend and anyone who has ever done _anything_ with engineering has heard of her," Jinx explained.

"...I see. Well it appears I have sorely underestimated the extent of my mother's fame, if you of all people see her as nothing short of a celebrity."

"Damn straight you did. But how can you even miss the fact that your mom is that famous? Like, aren't the bucket loads of cash I'm sure she brings in any indication?"

"Well, I suppose they are. But as I mentioned before, I've never particularly followed my mother's craft, and nor have I taken an interest in it. And beyond that, she isn't the type of person to flaunt her status, or spend our family's wealth on lavish splendors. She's much too...conservative for that, if you will. In fact, a decent portion of the money both she and my father earn goes into charities as well as a private foundation that they are still somewhat establishing."

"Oh yeah, the Rosen Bright Minds Foundation, right?" Jinx asked almost instantaneously after the words left Caitlyn's mouth. Piqued, Caitlyn had to raise a brow at that.

"You're know of that too? That's...fairly interesting. She hasn't even released much details about it yet. You must really idolize my mother to have kept up with her this much."

"Hell yeah I do! Like I said, she's awesome! And that foundation is kinda going to be a big deal. It'll give grants to promising engineering students all over allowing them to afford the entry to the Piltover Institution of Technology-only the _best engineering school in the whole world_ -even if they are dirt poor. I'd die to be able to go there, let alone be accepted by your mom's foundation!"

"Really? You fancy yourself a 'promising engineering student'?"

"Well, yeah. I did build all my guns from scrap, and I'd like to think it takes a _bit_ of skill to build a rocket launcher from nuts and bolts."

"...Wait, you built all your guns? By yourself"

"Yup, and all my traps and explosives too!" Jinx proudly replied. "Well, all of them except Zap. He's a random shock pistol that I managed to snap from Zaun. Though I did modify him a lot, so I practically built him."

"I see. That's pretty impressive. However, as promising as that may sound, unfortunately, PIT doesn't accept criminals, to my knowledge. Neither does my mother's foundation for that matter," Caitlyn stated in response. But her words caused Jinx to raise a brow in challenge.

"Hey, you never know. I could be the world's first major criminal-turned-university graduate!" Jinx protested.

"That is hopeful thinking, but I'm afraid that will never happen. Ignoring the fact that I still plan on personally landing you in a jail cell when I am rescued from here, PIT has a severe review process that wouldn't bat an eye to your extensive criminal history. And they would catch you even if you were to change your name and look completely. Alas, had you chosen a different course in life, you'd likely been amongst the world's brightest. But as things stand, you are nothing more than a wanted terrorist with dreams too big for your own good," Caitlyn stated.

Her words were harsh, but she meant every last one of them. If Jinx had truly built all of her weaponry, then she had more skill than have the engineer's that Caitlyn has ever seen. The Sheriff felt that even her mother would have praised Jinx for her skill, something the elder Rosen was not at all known for doing. However, Jinx was a criminal, and a major one at that. There was likely no hope for her in engineering. Not in this lifetime.

But as she took in Caitlyn's words, Jinx's previously amiable expression shifted into a hard glare, that bothered the Sheriff slightly.

 _Perhaps I stepped too far_ , she couldn't help but think.

"...Do you honestly think I chose this life. Do you think that I wanted to screw up my own dreams? If you do, then you're dead wrong," Jinx snarled.

"Oh?" Caitlyn murmured, slightly arching her brows, at the girl. Jinx's sudden anger slightly frightened her, but she would be damned if she showed it.

"I'm sorry then. I must be mistaken. I thought demolishing buildings and taking lives required _some_ form of conscious thought. My apologies." She sarcastically replied.

"Hey. Shove off, okay?" Jinx returned, obviously becoming quite agitated by Caitlyn's words. "You don't know anything about me. You don't even know half the things I've been through or the things I had to do just to survive _._ So don't act like you know why I'm like this!"

Frowning, Caitlyn realized that Jinx was right. She _doesn't_ know Jinx's life story. In fact, she has barely even scratched the surface of who Jinx is as a person. But that thought piqued her inquisitive nature, and she wanted to know just what such things Jinx had been through to make her such a criminal. Jinx was an enigmatic puzzle, and Caitlyn wanted nothing more than to crack her open to reveal all of the girl's secrets.

"Well then, why don't you enlighten me? Just what 'things' did you supposedly go through to make you become not only a terrorist, but one infamous for more crimes than wanted posters can even detail. What ridiculous story shall you spin me that makes any crime you have committed acceptable?" she retorted.

"I had to-!" Jinx started faltering, "I… I had to…no… NO! Never again. I'm not reliving that _hell_. Not for anyone, and definitely not for _you._ You'd just call me a liar and patronize me with that stupid, annoying accent of yours. No, I don't want to hear your shit. I'm not going to hear it!"

Jumping off the bed with that all being said, Jinx stormed off, heading to the door. As Caitlyn watched, she felt the need to say something, but as she also processed Jinx's words, it slowly came to Caitlyn just how blunt and harsh her approach had been. She had not realized this entire time that despite how insane the girl was and how many crimes she has committed, she was still in fact human.

Caitlyn had been much too careless about her words, easily falling into an intrusive state like it was second nature-and it might as well been with how many times she had fallen into it in her time as a detective. But that didn't excuse her for how she had begun to mercilessly interrogated Jinx.

Instantly, she felt guilty for taking such an abrasive stance. After all, just by the girl's hasty exit, it was clear that something truly significant had happened to her, and that it was painful for her to even remember it.

Frowning, Caitlyn now found herself wondering what could have possibly broken someone to that point of insanity.

To the point of turning to a life of crime of the magnitude of Jinx's.

It must have been alarmingly traumatic.

Her dubious words now heavily weighing, Caitlyn looked to apologize to Jinx, but found the door already closed and locked. Even if she wanted to say something, it was much too late. She would have to apologize the next day, provided that Jinx even bothered returning. At any rate, she was left to her own devices again. However, rather than pick up her book and return to where she left off, she found herself wondering what had happened to Jinx.

And more specifically, what mysteries and horrors was she keeping hidden...?

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

Not entirely the 1-2 weeks I envisioned, but I actually had the majority of the chapter done last week. However, I had to move a bit of furniture over the past week, so that, and my having to practically edit the whole thing because I was unhappy with a lot of it, kinda delayed me from finishing it until now.

But at any rate, here's a new chapter! I drastically expanded upon the original (found in the original Broken Gears Chapter 5.) so readers of the original will find a stark, but hopefully good, contrast between the two chapters.

And as always, thanks for reading, and thank you all for the comments and compliments! I always do appreciate seeing all the warm reviews that I get, so let me know how this chapter turned out, because I think it turned out well.

 **Reader Responses**

K12do (Noboy Lunatic) - To be honest, the reason why I don't use the Summoners and the Institute of War without much purpose is because I don't want them to be the predominant focus of the story. I wanted Broken Gears (both the original and this remastered version) to focus on the main characters of Jinx and Caitlyn, and Piltover.

As such, I merely use the Institute and Summoners as kinda lazy plot devices, admittedly. But, by having them included, I'm able to easily explain how, through the usage of potions, Jinx, without having any true medical skill or equipment, could have mended Caitlyn's large wound.

Also, to answer your other questions, I think I have all the info I'm comfortable with revealing on my FanFiction Bio page. So feel free to check things out there.


	7. Chapter 7: Special Day

"Hey there, Hat Lady! How's it going?"

Looking up from her book, Caitlyn found Jinx standing in the frame of her door again, just as she had been two days ago. But that day, Jinx didn't immediately lunge over to hop on the bed. In fact, she hadn't budged at all yet, leaving Caitlyn wondering if the girl wanted something.

Or maybe she was still upset over the events that happened two nights prior. After all, she hadn't come to see Caitlyn at all yesterday. Well, at least not while Caitlyn had been conscious, if the small plate of breakfast and water that Caitlyn had found had been any indication.

But as Jinx stood in the doorway, Caitlyn found herself frowning. She felt a need to apologize for her previous actions because after all, she had crossed a line that she did not particularly intend to cross. One she likely shouldn't have crossed.

"Oh, Jinx. Hello," she awkwardly started. "Listen, I am sorry about...what happened the day before yesterday. I should not have been so abrasive and confrontational."

"Pssh," Jinx casually replied, waving her off. "Don't worry about it! I'm not angry about it. I mean, I was, but I'm not anymore, so there's no need to say sorry or anything. Just let bygones be bygones or whatever."

"...What? You're not angry at me? But you seemed so upset that night and I-"

"Ah-ah-ah," Jinx interrupted, wagging a finger with each word. "None of that! 'Bygones be bygones' means that it's in the past and we should forget about it, right? So get to forgetting already! And besides, how can I stay angry with you on today of all days!"

"...alright. But what do you mean? What is so significant about today that makes you unable to stay angry with me?" Caitlyn asked.

"Oh don't play coy," Jinx said, waving her off with a giggle. "You know what today is."

But Caitlyn frowned at that, truly confused. "No...I really don't. What makes this regular day different from any other?"

Jinx took her turn to frown this time, in reply, making Caitlyn feel that it was something she was supposed to have known already somehow.

"Uh you're joking, right?" Jinx questioned, furrowing her eyes.

Caitlyn could only shake her head no.

"What? Really, Hat lady?! Don't you know what today is? Even I know, and it's supposed to be something you should know before anyone else would. Think about it!"

Caitlyn frowned at the girl's words, completely unsure of what she was talking about. After all, what could the day possibly be? Progress day was over a month ago, and other important holidays wouldn't start until weeks to come, so it wasn't a holiday or anything of the sort. And if it was something she should definitely know already, why was it eluding her? Her memory was something she often prided herself on, but she couldn't remember anything at all.

Overall, it was starting to make her feel fairly agitated and of course, as she still couldn't figure it out, Jinx couldn't help but giggle in the background, making her annoyance only grow further.

"Seriously, Hat Lady? This is really sad. You don't even know what the _date_ is, do you?" Jinx finally questioned after a good minute or two had passed.

Knitting her brows in frustration, Caitlyn scoffed at her words. "Well I haven't exactly had a calendar on hand, so no, _I don't know_ what the specific date is. Perhaps if you just told me it, I'd be able to identify the significance of the day. Or better yet, you could simply _tell me_ what's so important about today, rather than waste time with all your infuriating comments and remarks."

"Hey hey, calm down," Jinx started, with mirth still in her voice despite the Sheriff's obvious anger. "Look, all you have to do is think things through, okay? What was the last date that you can remember?"

Caitlyn sighed sharply, still feeling rather annoyed. But despite herself, she listened to Jinx and recalled the last day before she had been brought to this place.

"The last date?... I suppose that would be the day that you captured me, the nineteenth of August."

"Alright good! Now add the week that you've been here to it, and you get…" Jinx extended her hands in an outstretched manner as if delivering the answer to Caitlyn.

"August 26. I still fail to see why it's an important date, however," Caitlyn murmured, frowning in concentration as she thought on the date.

 _August 26…_

 _August 26…_

 _August 26…?_

 _...What was August 26?_

As if on cue, Jinx mumbled something out, likely answering Caitlyn's mental question. But the Sheriff didn't quite catch the response, unfortunately, and had to ask for clarification.

"...It's my what?"

"It's your…" Jinx trailed off again.

"Stop mumbling. I can't understa-"

"It's your _birthday_ , you dummy!" Jinx interrupted, exploding with incredulity at Caitlyn's obliviousness. "How can you forget that of all things?"

"W-what? Oh...I see..." Caitlyn dumbly replied, feeling her cheeks redden.

That's right, August 26 _was_ her birthday _._

However, if she was being truthful, she wasn't really at all surprised that she had forgotten. After all, it was actually a fairly common thing for her to do. But it was fairly embarrassing to be called out for it, and she awkwardly attempted to explain herself.

"I...uh, don't celebrate my birthday often. Not at all nowadays, actually. So I occasionally and very easily forget about it. This isn't the first time that I've completely overlooked the date either. It just doesn't hold any particular significance to me anymore," she explained.

But at Jinx's wide eyed reaction, it was clear that, if anything, her explanation only worsened things, rather than provide clarity.

"What?! What do you mean it 'doesn't hold any particular significance to' you?" Jinx questioned with a poor mimic of Caitlyn's words. She appeared to be completely flabbergasted by Caitlyn explanation as if what the Sheriff told her was spoken in some form of foreign language.

"How can your birthdays be unimportant to you? How can they be unimportant to _anyone_?! People don't just _not_ celebrate their birthdays!"

"I don't know who told you that lie because I have seen many people who don't celebrate their birthdays," Caitlyn returned with a scoff. "And I personally find them to be pointless for _everyone_ to celebrate after a certain age, at any rate. Well, save for lunatics, apparently," Caitlyn added, after a quick look over at the still baffled girl.

"Nope, I don't believe you," Jinx murmured, ignoring Caitlyn subtle insult. "There _has_ to have been a time where you celebrated your birthday. You can't tell me there wasn't."

"Well, sure. As a small child, yes, I found birthdays to be spectacular and enjoyed them just as any child would. But as I aged I came to realize that there is no real reason to get excited over them. Call me privilege or spoiled, but I was given practically everything I could have wanted as a kid even without regard to holidays and events. So that fact, combined with my disinterest in frivolous events and parties in general, has led to my birthday severely lacking in purpose, save for reminding me of how old I am becoming," Caitlyn finished, giving Jinx a chance to take in her words.

But it seemed the that more Jinx understood about her reasoning, the more she grew upset and bothered if her pout was any indication.

"That's…really sad, Hat Lady. Like I can get not celebrating Progress Day or the Harrowing or whatever, but your own birthday? The day when you can throw the biggest, bestest party with all your family and friends, and open the presents you've wanted all year long! You really don't care about all that?"

"Like I said, I don't care for parties and extravagances or gifts and presents. I have already gotten anything I could have ever desired for in terms of presents in the past, regardless. So no, I can't really say that I care all that much about birthdays. In fact, the only purpose my birthday serves for me ever since I became Sheriff is to be an over glorified day off."

"Wow...your way of thinking about your birthday really sucks," Jinx muttered.

"If you say so," Caitlyn idly returned with a shrug of her shoulders. "But why do you care?"

Jinx frowned at that. "Because it's not right? You should enjoy your birthday. And if you can't do it on your own, then I'm going to help you celebrate and enjoy your birthday."

"Oh? And how do you suppose you'll be doing that?" Caitlyn replied with a raised brow, intrigued by Jinx's words. But Jinx didn't answer her question. Instead, she gave out a quick, "One second," before darting out of the room and leaving Caitlyn puzzled.

The Sheriff in her confusion could only wait in silence for Jinx, not quite knowing how else to proceed. But as seconds later found Jinx back in her room with the wheelchair she had made in tow, Caitlyn found her words again and questioned the grinning girl.

"...What did you run off to get that for?, Caitlyn asked, hoping to gain some understanding of what was going on in Jinx's mind.

"To get you out the room. Duh," Jinx replied with a roll of her eyes, as if it was blatantly obvious, much to the annoyance of Caitlyn.

"I already figured as much. What I meant was why do you want to take me out of here? What are you planning on doing?"

"Like I said, I'm going to show you how to spend your birthday right. And don't you worry your pretty little head about the details. I'm not going to do anything that you'd fuss about or hate. Actually, heck, after hearing what you've said about how you treat your special day, I'm probably about to give you the best birthday you've ever had!" the girl exclaimed as an answer. But Caitlyn only chuckled at her words.

"Yeah...that's rather doubtful. If anything, you're more than likely to make this the _worst_ birthday I've ever had. Even with your claim of not doing anything disagreeable." Caitlyn stated, drawing a pout out of the other girl, who started to protest. But before she could utter a single word, Caitlyn spoke up again, cutting her off.

"But…I suppose there wouldn't be much harm in humoring you, however. After all, who knows? Maybe you could be right, and this could an excellent birthday. I won't hold my breath for it, but it would be a welcome surprise I suppose," she finished.

She tried to feign boredom, but despite her casual tone, she was unable to hold back a small smile, especially as she watched the other girl's pouting expression morph into a delightful cheer. Something about watching the criminal erupt so comically in glee somehow pleased her...more than she cared to admit.

"You know, I really didn't expect you to actually say yes," Jinx admitted after her elation calmed down. "I figured that I'd have to sit here and beg you for hours just for you to even think about it."

"Oh please. Don't act like I'm completely unapproachable and reluctant to even listen to you. I'm not that unreasonable," Caitlyn returned with a scoff.

"Yeah, ' _that_ ' being the key word. Let's face it, Hat Lady. You're pretty much a stubborn as hell brick wall most of the time."

Arching a brow, Caitlyn feigned mild annoyance at the girl's words. "Oh am I? Well then, on second thought, perhaps I should stay here-"

"No, no," Jinx interrupted rather quickly, "I was just teasing you, Hat Lady. I didn't mean to insult you or anything, I was just saying it's hard to get you to do things. You're not really that stubborn. Kinda. I mean sometimes you have your moments but uh...wait, what's so funny."

Jinx trailed off in her rambling as she noticed the Sheriff barely restraining a chuckle. But as the look of confusion formed on the girl's face, Caitlyn couldn't hold in her humor anymore, and let out a soft laugh, only to confuse Jinx more.

"I don't get it. Why are you laughing? What's so funny?" Jinx questioned, seemingly getting annoyed by Caitlyn's lack of response.

"Relax. I was merely toying with you myself," Caitlyn murmured, with her eyes still full of mirth even after her laughter died a brief few seconds later.

But at that, in contrast to the smiling Caitlyn, Jinx's face morphed into a pout as she was obviously displeased.

"Hey, you're not supposed to toy with me! That's not fair!" she whined.

"Oh? And how so? Were you not doing the same to me barely a minute ago."

"Well, yeah, but that's different. I'm supposed to be the one who toys with _you_ , and not the other way around."

"I see. I'm quite not sure who bestowed upon you that exclusive right, however."

"I did!"

"Naturally. At any rate, weren't you planning on taking me somewhere before getting sidetracked?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah! I uh...I kinda forgot about that." Jinx said with an awkward chuckle, only to receive a roll of blue eyes in return.

"...Of course you did."

"Hey, don't blame me. You're the one who was distracting me."

"I suppose that is true. But, who was I to know that your precious ego couldn't handle a little teasing."

"Oh shut it. Let's just get you in the dumb wheelchair already." Jinx replied, with her earlier pout returning in full bloom. Caitlyn found herself snickering at that, but did not respond. Instead, she silently wanted as Jinx brought the wheelchair over to the bed, and began helping her into it.

After a moment of careful movements to get Caitlyn situated had passed, Jinx brought her over to the door, as they prepared to leave. But right before they entered the hallway, Jinx paused, as if remembering something.

"Oh wait, before we go, you have to close your eyes. I don't want you to see and ruin the surprise before it's even ready."

"...All right, fine," Caitlyn said noncommittally. She wasn't going to peek, but she just wanted Jinx to get on with things already. So with a small shrug, she agreed with Jinx's demand, no questions asked. But apparently, the girl wasn't completely satisfied by her response, as she shook her head.

"You have to promise me that you won't."

Caitlyn arched a brow at that, but nevertheless, she listened and promised, just as Jinx asked. "Okay well, you have my word. I promise that I'll keep my eyes closed until you say otherwise."

However, despite Caitlyn's promise, for some reason (although, likely to just mess with the Sheriff), Jinx still seemed rather unconvinced.

"Hmm. That's not good enough. How about…a pinkie promise?" the girl asked, holding her pale finger up in expectation. But as the Sheriff gave her a deadpan expression it was obvious that Caitlyn was rather reluctant-as well as annoyed-to return the gesture.

"...Really Jinx?"

"Yes really. This is the best way to show that you really mean it. Like really, really mean it." Jinx returned fervently, only to draw a sigh out of the Sheriff.

"You're ridiculous. I hope you know that. But very well. I'll comply, if only so that we can actually go somewhere already."

She wasn't all that pleased about it, but she extended her finger all the same. And Jinx, for her part, grinned with glee, and eagerly took the Sheriff's stiff pinkie, locking it with her own.

"Alright, it's settled then! Now, close those eyes, and let's get to giving you the best birthday ever!" Jinx shouted out in a cheer. They haven't even gotten to where they needed to go and she was already this hyper. Knowing that it almost made Caitlyn scared to see what Jinx will be like at their destination.

But the girl's enthusiasm was infectious, and Caitlyn couldn't help but smile as Jinx started moving her into the hallway.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **Welp.**

 **It's been four months plus a couple of days now since the last update, so I guess the first thing I should say is I'm sorry and don't worry, I'm not dead. Things were just rather hectic IRL the first two months, and then** _ **this damn chapter**_ **kept me stuck since then** _ **.**_

 **I originally planned for this to be one of the last semi-filler chapters before the main plotline, but I literally lost track of what I was doing with it halfway through. So between not knowing what I was doing with it, and just losing motivation towards finishing it in general, it ended up being one of the hardest chapters I've ever had to write. So much so, that there were many times where I wanted to just scrap it and do something else. But as I told myself that I had gotten too far on it, I kept trying to work with it, and make it into something publishable; although in hindsight, it might have made things worse than if I had just started over from the beginning.**

 **At any rate, it's done now I guess. I hope that you guys enjoyed it, and hopefully, I can finish the second part to it rather soon. I'm starting to get much more motivated towards writing again, so it definitely won't take months at least (no promises).**

 **Oh, and as a side note for those who've been asking, I am aware that during the hiatus, the lore for Cait, Jinx, Piltover/Zaun, and everything overall has changed. However, I don't really think I am going to adopt the new changes to Re:Broken Gears, as it would kinda change things rather drastically. I'm not completely opposed to doing so, as I do enjoy some of the lore changes and we are still only 7 chapters in anyways, so it wouldn't be all that difficult to alter things, but I'll have to think about it.**


	8. Chapter 8: Memorable Celebration

"So...you aren't peeking, are you?"

"Jinx...for the _fifth_ damn time now, no, I am not peeking. I haven't opened my eyes since we left, so if you could refrain from asking me that completely inane and tedious question, _again_ , it would be absolutely splendid." Caitlyn returned, annoyed at the girl's incessant need to ask her that particular question.

"Alright, jeez. I was just checking, Hat Lady. No need to take my head off."

"Perhaps I wouldn't feel the need to take your head off if you weren't 'just checking' for five times in a row. To say that it is starting to get irritating is putting it mildly."

"Okay, well _sorry_ for wanting to make sure you weren't trying to ruin my surprise after I've carried you all this way. I had to go down four flights of stairs to get you here and it wasn't easy, you know. You're actually pretty heavy and it was even harder when you add in the wheelchair that I had to go back up and get!"

"Yes, yes. I recognize the _ever_ _tremendous_ effort you had to exert in getting me down here. But instead of whining to me about it, how about we take a second to remember precisely _whose_ fault it is that you had to go through all that work in the first place."

"So...it's your fault, then? Because it's sure as heck not my birthday we're celebrating here," Jinx returned, giving a wide, shit-eating smirk (that was missed by the still self-blinded Sheriff) to complement her words.

"Uh-huh, well regardless of that fact, it was _your_ idea to celebrate it, not mine. So if anyone's, it was your fault that you had to go through all the effort in getting me down here. After all, I would have been perfectly fine with not doing anything today aside from maybe relaxing in bed with a good book," Caitlyn responded, unfazed by Jinx's snarky comeback.

"...Yeah, but I wasn't about to let you do that. I took a lot of time to set up a whole bunch of stuff here so you could have an awesome birthday. And watch, you're going to end up enjoying it so much that you'll be like, 'Jinx, this was the bestest, most awesomest birthday _ever_!' and then I'm going to say 'I know! I told you so!'. And you're going to be wondering why you ever wanted to have wasted it, sitting in a room all day."

"So you tell me. However, so far, you haven't done much to make me say anything remotely similar," Caitlyn returned, letting boredom slip through in her words before adding, "Not that I _would_ say something as ridiculous as that, mind you," as an afterthought.

"Oh don't be so impatient, we're about to get started right now. I just need to get in position first," Jinx stated as she let go of Caitlyn. "Gimme a sec, and when I give the all clear, you can open your eyes and stuff." With that said, she moved off.

Caitlyn said nothing, but complied, keeping her eyes shut for the time being. Opting to sit in silence as she awaited Jinx's permission, she listened to Jinx walk a few feet away. Idly, she imagined that any second now, Jinx would have her open her eyes, only to reveal something ridiculous like a marching band coming out and playing a birthday song for her, with confetti spraying all over.

Or maybe her entire police department, Vi, and her parents somehow all being there in collaboration with the criminal to celebrate Caitlyn. That would truly be a surprise, but Caitlyn was much more certain that the marching band would happen a million years before anything close to that would.

However, despite her wild thoughts, she didn't really hear anything exciting. In fact, it was dead silent, save for a small thudding noise and Jinx letting out few choice curses, to which Caitlyn had to smirk and raise a brow at. But for the most part, Caitlyn heard nothing else and was left quietly awaiting whatever surprise Jinx had lined up for her. It found her growing curious, and when Jinx finally spoke up a couple of seconds later, Caitlyn couldn't really hide her budding anticipation.

"Alright Hat Lady. You can look and be amazed now!" Jinx shouted.

Heeding Jinx's words, Caitlyn slowly opened her eyes, ready to see just what surprises Jinx had spent the entire day teasing. And as she took in the scene, she let out a small gasp.

The first thing that was made apparent to her was that they were outside. At least, for the most part.

It was likely the courtyard of the apartment complex, as there were several archways connected to it and it was surrounded on all sides by the complex. But while it wasn't necessarily a true outdoors environment, it was much more natural than anything else she had the pleasure to be in the presence of for the longest of times.

She found that they were surrounded by beautiful plants and flowerbeds all over. And in a second glance, she took in the sight of the small trees lining the courtyard, each decorated with confetti and streamers for the celebration. It was a rather interesting display, as the decorations certainly clashed with the nature around them. However, the silly decorations somehow didn't take away too much from the overall beauty of the place, much to Caitlyn's delight.

And as the setting sun peeked through the empty halls of the complex, the whole atmosphere of the courtyard was made even more serene and pleasing to the Sheriff, who had been longing for a breath of fresh air for quite a while.

Breathing in the scent of the flowers, Caitlyn turned to look at the main decorations that Jinx set up. The most prominent of which was in front of her, in the form of a giant banner spelling out, "Happy Birthday, Hat Lady!" in cartoon-like letters scrawled all over it. Caitlyn gave a small chuckle at it and continued looking below it to where Jinx was.

Behind her, a table with several presents of various sizes on top, was set up and the girl herself was standing wildly in front of it, holding her arms outstretched over it as if to proudly showcase everything to the Sheriff.

"So? What do you think?" Jinx asked eagerly, seeking approval.

Caitlyn met her eyes and then took a moment to think about her response. As she looked at all the presents underneath the table and the rather large cake Jinx had on top of it, she couldn't help but feel mildly impressed. It wasn't an elaborate sort of deal and was certainly not the spectacular parties she had as a child. But despite that, or maybe _because_ of it, Jinx's small, handmade party for the two of them in the courtyard was...somehow nice.

"I must say...it's a rather pleasant scene. Certainly more than I expected, to be honest, but it's surprisingly not unnecessarily extravagant either," Caitlyn murmured, unable to hide the satisfaction in her voice. "When did you even have the time to do all of this?"

"Did most of it yesterday, and a bit this morning. It wasn't all that hard, either, though the flowers and cake were a bit expensive." Jinx said, sounding and looking a bit prideful. It was obvious that she was delighted at managing to draw a positive response out of the Sheriff and Caitlyn couldn't help but share her infectious smile.

"Did you made the flower bed yourself? I wouldn't have expected you to have a green thumb, but I suppose I wouldn't put it beyond your capabilities either."

"...Uh, no. I kinda don't have one. I had to have someone-I'd say friend, but they probably wouldn't say the same-help me. And even then, I sorta killed a couple of them while I was learning," Jinx admitted with a bashful head scratch.

"Well, it is still a lovely flower bed all the same. Your 'friend' must be a good teacher."

"Yeah. She is pretty good, I guess," Jinx agreed. But as she took in Caitlyn's words, she had to speak up again. "Wait a minute...are you actually complimenting me here, Hat Lady? You know, if I didn't know better, I'd say you are actually enjoying this," Jinx declared with a snicker, to which Caitlyn rolled her eyes at.

"Don't push your luck, Jinx. I am merely being civil in respect of your work. Nothing more, nothing less," Caitlyn brushed off. But Jinx wasn't convinced at all.

"Pfft. You say that, but I can tell you were being more than 'merely civil'."

"You're delusional. I would never waste a breath on complimenting you." Caitlyn tried to maintain an air of aversion. It didn't fool Jinx one bit.

"Uh-huh. Sure you wouldn't, Hat Lady," she returned with a laugh.

Caitlyn rolled her eyes, starting to grow mildly annoyed.

"Can we just simply move on already."

"I bet you'd like to do that, wouldn't you?"

"Jinx."

"Fine, fine." Jinx wouldn't let her grin die down, but she moved back over to frowning Caitlyn, who was still sat at the main entrance to the courtyard. She then moved Caitlyn over to the table for easier access.

"Let's open the presents first. I like to save the cake for last during birthdays"

"Alright. Sounds fine to me," Caitlyn replied, letting Jinx set the course of action as she took in the sight laid out on the table.

Now that she was closer, Caitlyn was able to examine the presents in greater detail, noting the differences between them. There were seven total gifts in total, with the majority being small, rectangular gifts. Three of them were much different from the rest, though, and they caught her attention instantly.

One was rather small in comparison to the rest, no larger than a jewelry box, while the other two were much larger, with one almost easily bigger than any of the other presents combined. She was quite curious about those gifts in particular and moved to open one of the large ones until Jinx stopped her, gently swatting her hand away.

"Almost forgot, but sorry Hat Lady. Those three are for last," Jinx explained, pointing at the gifts that Caitlyn had been eyeing, before scooting them further back on the table. "The others are fair game. I don't really care about the order of them either."

"...Alright," Caitlyn returned with a raised brow wondering as to why Jinx wouldn't let her open the different presents first. But she complied with the other girl's wishes, reaching for one of the small rectangular ones in front.

As she picked it up, she was able to see tape and bald patches all over the present, showcasing Jinx's rather poor handiwork. But...it was surprisingly meaningful to the Sheriff that Jinx had wrapped it herself. And smiling at the effort that the girl put in, despite its quality, she began opening it, peeling away the wrapping paper.

Based on its size, she had been somewhat expecting it to be a novel. And after it was fully uncovered, she was pleased to see her guess correct. She took a moment to examine it, skimming through its summary and first few pages. From what she could surmise, it was certain to be a fairly interesting read, drawing a smile to her face.

"Thank you, Jinx. I can hardly wait to read this, and it seems like it will keep me entertained for quite a while."

"I hope it does. I'm still learning your taste in books and I wasn't sure if you'd like it or not. But with the way you're reacting, I'm guessing I did right by choosing it?"

"Yes. I would say that you did."

"Awesome." Jinx beamed. "And since you like that one, you're sure to like your next gifts too."

Jinx passed her the next two gifts, both similar to the first one in size, more than likely books as well. And as she tore through them, she found that they were, in fact, two more novels. Peering through me just as she did with the first, she was easily delighted by them, knowing that she was set with an ample source of entertainment over the next two weeks or so. Which was especially needed since she had finished her last couple of books already.

She would've thanked the other girl again, but as Jinx was already readying the next gift, she didn't quite get the chance too.

"Okay, once you're done with this one, you can open up the good ones," Jinx stated, as she handed Caitlyn a box a bit bigger than the first few, but much smaller than the mysterious two that Jinx was having her wait for. Wondering about this new gift, Caitlyn gave it a small shake, hoping to gather an idea of what was inside before she opened it. But as no clue came to mind, she chose to simply open it and find out firsthand.

Once the paper came off, she found that it was a clothing box, and as she opened it, she found three new pairs of nightwear inside. Holding them in her hands she was taken back with how delightfully comfortable they felt. So much so that the few outfits that Jinx had previously gotten her-though nice and an infinitely better change in comparison to the bandages and shorts she had to wear the first few nights-they paled in the face of these new outfits. She had to suppress an urge to put them on right there.

"Wow. These are _amazingly_ soft. Almost as if they were made from clouds."

"I know, right? I even had to get myself a pair when I picked those up."

Caitlyn chuckled at the girl's words.

"I can't blame you. I can't wait to sleep in them. Thank you.

"Don't mention it," Jinx returned with a wave of her hand, politely brushing off Caitlyn's words. "Alright, so now that you're done with those four, we can get to the good ones now!"

Nodding in agreement, Caitlyn waited for Jinx to hand her the first of the three remaining presents, a large mostly rectangular box, slightly taller than wide. Still wondering about its contents, she took it and started opening it up.

But after she ripped off all the paper and cracked open the box, she could help but give Jinx a confused expression as she lifted up the contents.

"What? My hat...you gave me... _my_ _hat_ for a present?" she questioned with a deadpan, as she pulled out the object in question.

She should have known that Jinx was going to give her something she had already owned in one of the 'good ones'. She really should've...

"Yep! I told you that I'd give it back, didn't I?"

"Gee, _thanks_. How ever thoughtful of you," Caitlyn muttered sarcastically. "Couldn't you have simply handed it to me any time prior to now? Why was it necessary to wait until now and wrap it up as nothing more than a returned item?"

"Because I wanted to give you something you'd like for sure as a gift, duh. And besides, I didn't _just_ wrap it up as is. Aren't you going to take a closer look at it?"

Arching a brow, Caitlyn paused at Jinx"s statement.

"Why…? You didn't...modify it, did you?" she slowly questioned.

"Maybe…" As Jinx's words came drawn out and mischievous, it was quite clear that yes, she did, in fact, modify it.

"Jinx! I told you just yesterday _not_ to change it. It hasn't even been a full day since you _promised_ not to change it!"

"Yeah well, you see, the thing about that is...I'm pretty bad with keeping to promises," Jinx joked. But as Caitlyn glared holes into her, she quickly changed her response. "Alright, alright. I know I promised not to touch it, but _come on,_ look at it! It's not like I painted it green with pink polka dots or something. I barely touched it and the one thing that I actually did do-I know that you'll like it. So calm down already and just check it out."

Caitlyn was still irked and reluctant, but she didn't imagine _too_ much harm could come from it. So she followed the instruction and examined her hat more in detail.

She checked inside it, feeling around for anything unusual, but found nothing of the nature. Moving on, she checked around the brim of the hat and the top too. But still, nothing new presented itself. Growing mildly frustrated, she sighed in defeat.

"Alright, I concede. What is so different about it?"

"The lenses silly, I modified the lenses that are attached to it. Take a look through them."

Listening to the words, Caitlyn _did_ , notice that the lenses attached to her hat were not the ones previously attached. Deciding to peer through these new lenses, she looked through towards a courtyard door.

Almost immediately, she was able to notice quite a difference in the altered lens. They were much clearer and more magnified than before. And in addition, she also noticed that Jinx had added two new additional lenses to the hat, allowing for even greater magnification.

"Interesting…" she let out unconsciously, as she viewed the city's outskirts with the aid of the spectacular new lenses. She stayed that way for a good couple of seconds, getting used to the new range she would have with her hat, before Jinx let out a cough, drawing her attention back.

"So? I'm assuming that from how long you've been looking through them, you like them?" Jinx questioned as Caitlyn removed her dominant eye from the lenses.

"...I'll admit, you've given me quite a substantial improvement to them and I can't say I don't appreciate it," Caitlyn started. But before Jinx could say something in return, or even take pride in her work, the Sheriff quickly added, "However, you still modified my hat without permission and defied my wishes. So don't expect me to be all that grateful."

"...Uh, sorry? I mean, I really didn't think you'd mind all that much after I showed you how much I improved it. Heck, this was supposed to be the part where you forgive me and realize that I had good intentions or whatever, and thank me out of the good of your heart, you know. Not be all hung up on the whole 'broken promises' deal." Jinx responded, squirming awkwardly under Caitlyn's annoyed gaze.

"I don't know where you got that idea from, but you should know that I place a high significance on promises. Especially those concerning people or _belongings_ that I hold dear to me. So don't even begin to believe that I will easily forgive you at this point in time."

"Aww, come on, Hat Lady," Jinx whined, drawing out the words as if to convince Caitlyn of how apologetic she was.

"I apologized for it, and I never apologize for anything! Like ever! Let alone feel _bad_ for things! Doesn't that make up for it? And if I knew that you would've been so ticked off by it, I wouldn't have even touched the stupid thing in the first place. Honest."

"Well, perhaps you should've lingered on the thought of altering a precious belonging for longer, then. And your apology means nothing if you don't fully intend on being sincere." Caitlyn remained unbudging, not at all willing to accept Jinx's apology, drawing out a groan from her.

"Okay, okay. I get it. Messing with your hat was a big no-no and I shouldn't do it **ever again**. I _won't_ do it ever again, alright? Is that sincere enough for you?"

"Hmph. While it is obvious that you are trying to do nothing more than placate me...I suppose that is satisfactory enough for the time being. If _barely._ "

"Ugh, thank you. And yeah, no duh I'm trying to placate you. You won't stop being all grumpy and we still have presents and a cake left."

"I am fully aware. Go ahead and bring me the next present."

Rolling her eyes, Jinx didn't seem to appreciate the commanding and matter-of-fact tone Caitlyn was taking with her. But nevertheless, she still walked over to bring the Sheriff the next gift.

Before moving onto it, Caitlyn returned her hat to its rightful location on top her indigo hair. And once satisfied with its comfort, she continued to the new present. Noting that it was the especially long gift, she tore through it with little ease.

However, as she finished unraveling the paper, she found herself more confused than she had been previously with her hat.

"My rifle? You gave me back my rifle as well?" she questioned.

"Yeah, and don't tell me. I know what you're thinking: "You're giving me another thing that I already own?!" and yadda yadda. It's like the hat, I'm didn't just wrap it up as it was. I fixed it and made some improvements too. Oh, and before you get angry about _that_ too, you never told me not to touch the gun. Only the hat. And besides, I had done it at the same time as the hat, before we got into the whole "touching other people's things is wrong" rant again today."

"...I already assumed that you modified it. And as annoying as that is, you are correct, I didn't specify my rifle in addition, and it was indeed before today's conversation. But just so you know for future reference, _do not touch_ _ **any**_ _of my belongings_. Is that clear?"

The glare the Sheriff gave her made Jinx happy that looks couldn't kill. Because she'd be six feet under by now if they could.

She gave out a meek "crystal", letting Caitlyn know that her message was heard loud and clear. And if mildly satisfied by the response, she returned to her question.

"Aside from that, however, what I meant by what I said, is why would you give me back my firearm of all things? I can see giving me my hat, but not my rifle."

"Huh? Why not? I kinda just thought you would want it too. I mean, I know it practically comes in your job's description, but you carry it with you almost as much as your hat. So I figured you'd want it back. I know that if it were _me_ , I'd be missing my guns more than anything."

"Well...I suppose that you're right. I have in fact missed the comfort of rifle in hand. But...don't you find it rather foolish to deliver your captive a weapon, let alone her own comfort weapon?"

"Oh, is _that_ what you're going on about?!" Jinx let out, finally realizing what Caitlyn had been alluding too. "Nah, I'm not worried. It's not like I gave you bullets for it or anything, so you can't really use it really."

"I see. That explains why you are being so cavalier about handing a gun to me. But at any rate, what all did you even alter about it?" Caitlyn asked, fairly curious at to what the changes were.

"Well, after fixing it up, back to its original state-because it was kinda broken into _a lot_ of pieces from the whole crushed thing-and after modifying the lenses on your hat, I decided to improve the scope on your gun to match your hat's improvements. But I also added on some fun additions too. So with this new scope, you can now see and hit a target almost 5k meters away, and you can see in infrared too," Jinx explained.

But as Caitlyn gave a steady-faced blink at her words, it was quickly clear to her that Caitlyn didn't really get her detailed explanation.

"...Could you perhaps repeat that to me in more...layman's terms? Do remember that I did not exactly take after my mother, and I have rather limited knowledge concerning technology. So infrared, while I understand it is a wavelength of light-I'm not entirely certain how that translates to vision. In addition, I'm not entirely certain how far away '5k meters' is."

"Uh, okay," Jinx started, furrowing her brow at the request. "I guess to put things simply, the new scope allows you to shoot practically halfway across the city from one end to the other, and seeing in infrared is pretty much a fancy way to say it has night and heat vision now."

"...Really? Well, that actually sounds like quite an improvement."

"It better, considering how sad of a state it was in before. I mean, the previous scope barely had any zoom to it, and it had no way of reliably picking out a target in the dark. How you managed to use that thing so well, I'll never know."

Caitlyn chuckled as she took in Jinx's begrudging respect. "Well of course I managed it successfully. I am an excellent marksman, after all. But the gun was merely a daylight hunting rifle of my father's before I made use of it in my position as Sheriff. It hadn't needed anything more than its basic scope to be effective and it was far from a sad state for its proper usage."

"Yeah, I guess it would've been fine sniping deer and stuff. But things kinda change when you're hunting humans instead of animals, you know. You need better equipment for that."

"...I suppose you are right, to an extent. I'll admit, it was rather inefficient of me to utilize a hunting rifle in human conflicts. It was simply a comfort that I was too hesitant to alter, but even I see that it was needed."

Lifting the rifle up, Caitlyn peered through its scope again, getting a feel for the changes. Not to her surprise, it quite an alteration. "...I will need to get reacquainted with my rifle now. If just looking through it is this much of a change, I imagine shooting with it will be a completely foreign experience."

"Uh, yeah. That kinda goes without saying though, Hat Lady. What, did you expect it to feel the exact same and have no problem learning it?" Jinx questioned with a chuckle.

Caitlyn took her eye off the scope only to roll it and its counterpart at the comment.

"Don't be so ridiculous. Of course I expected it to be different. I was merely thinking aloud."

"Well, thoughts aren't meant to be done out loud. That's why they're thoughts, not words, silly," Jinx teased.

"Yes, I'm aware," Caitlyn returned with a roll of her eyes.

Jinx chuckled at the Sheriff's exasperation for a good couple of seconds. But after her mirth died down, she moved over to grab the last present and bring it over.

"You can come back to your rifle and out loud thinking later. You still got one more left. And I've saved the best for last here."

"Oh? And what makes you say that it is the best?"

"Open it up and you'll see." It was a noncommittal answer that had Caitlyn raise a brow. But all the same, she took the final gift from Jinx's hand, still wondering why it had been saved for last.

However, as she noted that it was the perfect size to be a jewelry box, she realized that it must be truly significant. So as such, she took her time with the delicate present, hoping not to disturb its contents much as well as slowly reveal it.

She tried to imagine what was inside as she tore into it, picturing a beautiful necklace or a pair of diamond earrings. But as she snapped open and let out a gasp, she could easily say that a watch certainly wasn't expecting.

But it wasn't any simple watch either. Caitlyn could easily tell that this particular watch was custom tailored by the most precise of watchmakers. After all, the intricate gold weavings beneath the silver framed glass in addition to the the smooth leather arms led Caitlyn to believe that it had cost a fortune.

"Jinx...this is _remarkable_. Where did you get it?"

"I made it myself!" Jinx boasted, astonishing the Sheriff.

"...What? Really?" Caitlyn asked with both wonder and skepticism in her voice. While it wouldn't be the first time Jinx has surprised her, she really didn't peg Jinx for having skill in watchmaking. Especially not _this much_ skill. The watch she held in her hand was flawless. The work of a true master. Though if she had in fact made it, well, Caitlyn would have been more than impressed.

But Jinx shook her head, it confirmed her doubt.

"Nah, but I really had you going there, didn't I?"

Caitlyn deadpanned, not at all surprised that Jinx was trying to fool her. "Not at all. But where did you get it from then, if you didn't make it yourself?"

"I got it from an antique vendor not too far from here. He said his brother had been a watch and clockmaker and had made it, but had passed away before ever selling it. So the vendor wanted to sell it for his brother's sake or something, so he gave it to me for a _steal_. Seventy percent off of what it would've originally sold for! But, even with that, it was _still_ expensive as hell and nearly cost me my entire paycheck from my matches this month. I mean, I know I don't have the best salary compared to other champions, but still...it almost cost me an arm and a leg." Jinx explained, grumbling at the thought of the watch's price.

However, after catching sight of Caitlyn, she trailed off with her complaints. "But...I guess it was worth it. I mean, you seem to like it, don't you?"

Looking back down to the elegant watch, Caitlyn couldn't hide the delight on her face. "...Yes. Yes, I do."

"Well, then it was worth every cent," Jinx stated with a wide grin of her own. Caitlyn felt a warmth in her cheeks grow, and despite letting out a fake cough, she couldn't really smother it. So instead, she sighed and decided to embrace it.

"...Thank you, Jinx. Both for this present and the others. For everything really, even considering you tinkered with my hat after I had expressed not too. And as much as I would rather not admit it, I can't find it in myself to lie. Though I obviously didn't expect to, I've enjoyed this celebration dearly. You have made it a wonderful day for me and I will especially treasure this watch," Caitlyn stated with an honest air of praise in her voice.

But Jinx, likely not expecting Caitlyn to say such things or let alone thank her to such a magnitude, turned bright red herself at the positive recognition.

"Uh, you're welcome, Hat Lady," she muttered out. Stepping in place awkwardly, she looked confused on how to respond further. So after giving a weak cough, she attempted to change subjects instead.

"...Alright, so uh, now that we're done with the presents, how about we uh...move onto...the cake! Yeah, the cake." Jinx asked, but it was less of a question than a nervous statement. Caitlyn chuckled as she watched the skittish girl move over, but said nothing to further embarrass her. Instead, she sat idle as Jinx sliced the large treat into pieces for them both.

After all, the large treat that sat in the middle of the table looked delicious and she could easily tell that Jinx had been waiting to savor it for quite a while now. Even she herself was ready to dig into it too. So when Jinx brought her a tiny plate with a slice on top, she dug into it without complaint. But as she did, she found herself reflecting on the day's events.

And with a small smile, she realized that Jinx was right. The day had been an enjoyable one. Jinx somehow made it an enjoyable birthday after all.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **Ahhh, I don't know why this was so damn difficult. I really don't. But it's done now, I guess.**

 **I don't really know what much else to say about this one though and it's late in the night. So keeping it brief, I would just like to say thank you guys for reading and I hope you all enjoyed. Oh and leave a comment if you feel so inclined! I always love reading them.**


	9. Chapter 9: Belief and Sanity

Days quickly passed after Caitlyn's birthday, and before she knew it, it had been a full three or four weeks since she was first kidnapped. Upon reflecting on it all, she found it rather interesting how quickly time had passed. After all, it certainly hadn't felt like practically a full month had passed already. And when she took a moment to actually acknowledge the fact that it actually _has been_ that long...well it was a bit surreal to her.

However, she supposed she could always attribute the quickly passing time to the busy activities of the past few weeks. Specifically those in regards to her recovery process.

After Caitlyn's birthday, Jinx had poured all her focus (which, Caitlyn had to admit, was a rather high amount considering the girl's typical short attention span) on helping the Sheriff heal from her wounds. But it hasn't been an easy process. Not in the slightest.

For starters, the widespread laceration that had been prominently displayed across her navel area was a major concern. They had to make sure it was fully stable before doing anything extensive, as if it were to rupture even the slightest bit, they would have to restart all their progress from square one and Caitlyn would be bed ridden again.

So to hopefully ensure that such a situation wouldn't occur, Jinx had Caitlyn finish off the last remaining health potion. It had been a long enough delay between it and the first two, Jinx had reasoned, so Caitlyn would be fine taking the last.

And as she was inclined to believe Jinx-recognizing the fact that she hadn't suffered any of the typical drawbacks of having excess magic in her body from the first two-Caitlyn downed had the final tonic with little complaints.

With the potion's magic flowing through her, her body had healed significantly. The bruises and small cuts that she had suffered had already disappeared after the first week, but even after the first two health potions, there had still been some lingering scrapes and other small scars that weren't completely removed. However, with the last potion's magic flowing through her, they had all but dissipated, and Caitlyn was almost back to a more normal state of health.

But more importantly, the main source of their concern, the navel wound, had diminished to a much more acceptable level. It was obvious that it was to be a permanent scar on her figure, but through the use of magic-although it still had a fairly long way to go-it had narrowed enough that it would be barely noticeable once fully healed. Nothing more than a thin line across her waist to prove that the horribly jagged gash had ever been there.

So with their worries all but sated, they then moved onto physical therapy. Having to start with baby steps-almost literally-Jinx had to aid Caitlyn in her journey towards slowly regaining the ability to walk, after not utilizing her legs in so long.

But the therapy had proven to be much more complicated than either imagined, because with every step she attempted, Caitlyn had faced a significant amount of both difficulty and pain. The muscles in her legs had obviously atrophied over the weeks and in result, she barely even had the strength to support her own weight.

So as such, it had taken several days for Caitlyn to begin walking with even aid. Let alone unassisted. But surprisingly...Jinx had guided her through it all. From stabilizing her during the first few attempts at walking, to catching her when she fell. Jinx had been there to aid her through and through.

And when Caitlyn was finally able to walk the length of the living room-by herself even-Jinx had been standing right by, congratulating her with a ridiculous grin wide on her face and several bouts of cheers erupting from her mouth. Caitlyn had found herself affected by the girl's infectious glee, and had also burst into joyful laughter. And together, they had celebrated the long-awaited culmination of all their efforts with a good meal and some fine wine.

...Caitlyn couldn't help but smile as she thought back on the day.

It was just...delightfully strange to her. She was the Sheriff of the city and Jinx...well, she was the city's most wanted as well as the one to have so grievously wounded Caitlyn in the first place. But there Caitlyn was, laughing and cheering with the other girl over her recovery progress as if they were best friends!

...And, Caitlyn supposed with a rather bittersweet outlook, in another time and place perhaps they _could_ have been.

After all, they have been getting along well enough since the first week as it was, even considering their _dramatically_ conflicting backgrounds (which Caitlyn still found perplexing). So who's to say that if they hadn't been in such antagonistic roles from the very start, they couldn't have been friends. Heck, Caitlyn could easily imagine that in another world, another life, they _were_ friends. Maybe even life long ones.

And such a train of thought had Caitlyn wondering if it were still possible for such a relationship to exist in their current reality. It was a crazy thought, but if through some means, she could manage to convince Jinx to give up her criminal lifestyle...and through further means, she could somehow convince Piltover to absolve the girl of her crimes...maybe they could be friends.

Maybe it would be possible that they could be amiable without having any unpleasant circumstances or worries perpetually surrounding them. Caitlyn really wanted such a reality to exist.

...Because she found that she truly values Jinx's presence. She didn't know if it was a false sense brought along by Jinx being the only source of human contact she has had access to these long weeks, but she appreciated Jinx. Appreciated the little things that Jinx would do for her, like gifting her books or clothes, feeding her decent meals, or even helping her outside when Caitlyn needed a breath of fresh air. And then the more significant acts, such as helping her walk again and even provide her with an enjoyable birthday party.

Really, if Caitlyn was being honest to herself, she found herself grateful for practically everything that Jinx has done for her. And the other girl has also managed to successfully earn her respect too. Caitlyn hadn't expected captivity under Jinx to be anything short of absolute hell at first.

But Jinx...she completely proved her wrong.

Not only has Jinx been absolutely hospitable, but she has shown Caitlyn her humanity. She has proven that she not only has redeemable qualities like anyone else does, but is just as human too. Above all, she proved to Caitlyn that the Jinx that the Sheriff always thought she had known, was not the full extent to her being.

So if Jinx were to change her ways and free Caitlyn unconditionally, along with show everyone that she isn't simply the terrorist she makes herself out to be, Caitlyn would have absolutely no problem accepting Jinx. And if the public were to accept Jinx too, Caitlyn would be the first to show her support.

But as Caitlyn let out a sigh, she knew that she was only thinking idealistically. Because truth be told, such thoughts would never come to pass in reality.

Jinx would never simply give up being a criminal. Not on her own account, and certainly not on Caitlyn's. And Caitlyn didn't even think it was because she necessarily _liked_ the criminal lifestyle, as the girl had clearly expressed that she had once wanted nothing more than to study engineering.

So no, Caitlyn felt that Jinx was a natural troublemaker that had merely grown too far accustomed to a criminal life and had just accepted it as a basic part of herself. Jinx probably even didn't even believe she could be _capable_ of anything more than a criminal life.

And beyond that, it was clear to Caitlyn that something within Jinx was irrevocably broken. Something that affected her basic empathy and kept her from caring about her fellow human beings more often than not. Something that also kept her from seeing people and the buildings they make their home in as nothing more than her personal playthings and that what she considered fun was anything but for everyone else.

And although Caitlyn has found that Jinx does _actually_ have a propensity for empathy and true kindness over her term as the girl's captive, the city would never get to see that small sliver of humanity that still lingered in Jinx. No, they wouldn't be able to see the caring girl that was sometimes visible to Caitlyn when cracks in Jinx's criminal facade revealed themselves. Nor would they be able to see the sense of humor that Jinx had, when she wasn't trying to be merely annoying. They wouldn't be able to see **anything at all**.

Nothing more than the criminal that she took to portraying herself as.

And so, in result, the city would never all her to be pardoned. Even if the city council was willing, which they themselves would likely never be, the people of the city itself would never allow it. Why would they? For all they know, Jinx is a complete monster who loves tormenting them. And maybe...maybe they are correct in that judgement.

Maybe Jinx truly doesn't have any redeemable qualities and Caitlyn has just been too far gone from normal society to remember the difference between normal people and psychopaths. And maybe it was only Stockholm's Syndrome leading her to believe that she and Jinx could ever be friends. Ever be anything more than just Sheriff and Terrorist.

Letting out a sigh, Caitlyn shook her head.

If she was being honest...she didn't know just _what_ to believe in anymore...

* * *

After all the hard days of work, Caitlyn was perfectly able to walk the short distances around the apartment with ease. Well, _some_ ease, at least. She may have stumbled once or twice here and there, but for the most part, she had regained a lot of her mobility.

However, the more mobile she became, the less free she began to find herself. While Jinx had been initially eager to get Caitlyn back on her feet and had helped the Sheriff through the process, seeing Caitlyn be able to walk again seemed to remind her of their circumstances. And so, as she remembered her role as Caitlyn's captor, she became more and more distant as time had passed.

And although Caitlyn couldn't say it didn't make sense or that she didn't expect it-because she almost definitely did-, it bothered her. Much more than she cared to admit. Days became much more lonely without Jinx, and even when the girl _did_ come to visit, interactions between them had become tense and uneasy, almost reminiscent of the first week.

So when Jinx came to visit with a wide grin spread across her face, acting as though nothing had ever changed...well, it was quite a surprise, to say the least.

"Hi, Hat lady! Did ya miss me?" the girl's had gleefully greeted as she burst through Caitlyn's door, mildly surprising the older girl.

Blinking, Caitlyn settled down not long after. But ignoring the sudden entrance, she did find herself missing the bluenette's company. It had been much too lonely for her tastes of late, after all. But of course, she wouldn't care to admit it to Jinx, as the girl would love nothing more than for Caitlyn to confess her feelings of isolation.

"Not at all. In fact, I was rather enjoying the peace and silence."

Jinx pouted at her words as if mildly offended by Caitlyn's false air of indifference. But seconds later her pout all but disappeared to be replaced with a wide spread grin.

"Guess where I've been!" she suddenly exclaimed, taking Caitlyn off guard again.

"...Where?" Caitlyn ventured.

"That's not a proper guess silly," Jinx returned with a chuckle, only to receive a roll of blue eyes in return.

"Jinx, I don't particularly feel like playing this game. So either tell me or don't. I don't quite think I'll care either way."

"Oh, you don't? Well that's perfect then! And here I was thinking you'd blow a gasket after I told you that I went out and blew up half the city! Talk about a relief!"

"...What," Catlyn blinked, having to take a moment to process the other girl's words. But when she did, mere seconds later, her eyes narrowed into dangerous slits.

"...You didn't...you wouldn't have dared…"

"Nope, I dared! Upper Piltover is such a wasteland now that it makes _Zaun_ look like absolute paradise! Oh, that's not even to mention your police department. I turned that place into a sinkhole!"

"...I must admit, I can hardly tell whether or not you are serious," Caitlyn muttered out slowly. "However...I would assume that you are not. You _better_ not be."

As if Caitlyn's words were a cue, Jinx's face scrunched up immediately, as she struggled to keep in laughter threatening to overtake her. But it was obviously too much to handle for her, and she burst into jubilant giggles. But Caitlyn, for her part, merely deadpanned at the girl's mirthful display, mildly annoyed.

"Seeing at how funny you find this, I imagine that you were, in fact, merely teasing," Caitlyn muttered. However, her words were almost dead to Jinx's ears, for the girl continued laughing all the same. But after several long seconds passed, Jinx finally managed to settle down enough to reply. If barely.

"Of course I am, Hat Lady! How did you even fall for that? You should know that I wouldn't blow _that much_ up in one sitting. It's much more fun to me to target a small couple of buildings that get rebuilt first before I blow them back up again. And besides, don't you think you would've heard explosions that big?"

"Jinx, I hardly know _where I am_ , let alone how close I am to hearing explosions of any magnitude. By the time I might learn of any of your misdeeds, the city could be bout near in ruins."

"Pssh, you're totally underestimating the amount of firepower I pack. I could make an explosion so big that all of _Runeterra_ would hear it!"

"Yes, I'm _sure_ you could, Jinx," Caitlyn muttered with an exasperated air of sarcasm. But after a shake of her head, she decided to ask, "Where were you truly, at any rate?"

"Hmm? So now you want to know? What happened to ' _I don't quite think I'll care'_?" Jinx teased in a rather butchered mimicry of Caitlyn's accent. But as the Sheriff's blue orbs narrowed once again, Jinx quickly backpedaled.

"Oh relax, Hat Lady! I'm just messing with you," Jinx playfully waved her off. "I wasn't really at anywhere special. Just went to the store to pick up food and stuff. Oh and speaking of which, I also came here to see if you're hungry. Are you?"

Caitlyn provided a simple nod for her answer, still fairly annoyed by Jinx's teasing.

"Alright, well let's go eat, then!" Jinx shouted before bolting out the room.

Arcing a brow at the girl's spontaneous burst of energy, Caitlyn could only watch as Jinx happily skipped through the hallway. But as the girl disappeared around the corner, she shook her head and got out of bed to follow her insane as ever captor.

* * *

"Oh, by the way, I'm going to be gone for a couple of days, starting today," Jinx suddenly announced, as she chewed on a pancake.

"Wait, what? ...Why?" Caitlyn questioned, with confusion evident in her voice.

"Something or the other is going on at the Institute, and they said they need me personally for some important matches.

"That's...rather peculiar. What event would be so significant as to require your **personal** service over the course of several days?"

Typically, the Institute simply used magically constructed clones of its champions for matches. By doing so, it allowed them to be able to summon the same champion for use in different, often concurrent games each day. And even against their own selves, if the situation called.

As such, unless they choose to attend more games on their own accord-often for more pay-the actual champions for the Institute's League only found themselves called for significant games and events. And even then it is a rather rare occurrence for a champion with other obligations to stay more than a day or two. So for Jinx to be called for multiple days, it meant something significant was happening.

"Dunno. Something about yordles encroaching on Noxian land, and Noxus wanting to invade Bandle City? I didn't really ask for the specifics or even care enough to. All I know is that they need me to fill in for Draven, he got his ass handed to him trying to 'flirt' with one of the scarier ladies again. I think it was Sej this time, because they said he caught the flu after they thawed him out."

Caitlyn couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Naturally. Leave it to that idiot to hit on a woman not only twice his size, but who also rides a giant boar and wields a frostbound flail." Knowing Draven, unfortunately she might add, Caitlyn could almost imagine him saying something ridiculously arrogant and narcissistic too, such as, "You're pretty, almost as pretty as Draven!" After all, that's what he had told Caitlyn herself once. And needless to say, he didn't get a good response out of her. Nor did his precious genitals.

"Heh. You'd think he'd learn by now. But I guess common sense isn't his strong point."

"Or _any_ of his points," Caitlyn added, drawing a giggle out of the other girl.

"Yeah. But anyways, the Institute needs me there. It'll only be like a week at max, so you won't have to miss me for too long."

Caitlyn rolled her eyes. "Don't worry. I won't miss you at all."

"You say that now, but just wait. You're gonna be _soo_ bored, you'll be pulling at your hair. Heck, I bet you'll be excited by the time I return, just so you would be able to do something fun again."

"Please. I would never be so desperate. And besides, I have plenty of books remaining."

"You say that, but you're gonna read them all in like a day or two, I bet," Jinx replied with a confident grin.

"No I wo-"

"Yes you will. I know you, Hat Lady!" Jinx interrupted with grin growing even more. " _Buuut_ , when you do get bored, I guess you can the hexavision or play video games or something. I'll be leaving everything unlocked, so you can pretty much go as you please. And I also stocked up on food for you while I was at the store today. So you should be fine for whatever you need while I'm gone."

Jinx paused as she shoved another pancake into her mouth.

"Oh, and don't try to, you know, escape or anything. I set up an electric field around the complex, so if you try to sneak out, don't blame me when you get burnt to a crisp," she then added-speaking through the pancake chunks in her mouth-as an afterthought.

Arching her brow at that, Caitlyn found herself wondering how truthful that statement was. Jinx said the words jokingly enough, but the expression she gave Caitlyn told the Sheriff that she was quite serious. Or at least as serious as one can be with cheeks stuffed of breakfast. But as such, it was hard to know whether or not Jinx was merely bluffing.

Considering the girl's nature, Caitlyn was inclined to lean on the side of it merely being a bluff. But for now, she figured it would be safer to take the girl's words for truth. Until she could prove otherwise, at least.

"...Aaaand, done!"

Looking up from her pondering, Caitlyn found that Jinx had rushed down the last few remaining pancakes and was getting up from the table.

"Alright, time to go now!" Jinx spoke up again, as she picked up her plate to take it over to the sink.

"What? You're leaving for the Institute already?" Caitlyn questioned, curious.

"Yup! I hate traveling at night. Always makes me sleepy. So the sooner I leave, the earlier I arrive. And besides, the summoners get cranky when I get there late."

"I have to agree with you there," Caitlyn said, cracking a smile. She was personally nothing but punctual to anything required of her, but she had heard tales of the harsh punishments summoners enjoyed enacting on champions or other summoners that have the misfortune to be late.

"But still, don't you need to pack some bags at the very least?"

"Nope! Already packed them! So I'm all good to go!" Jinx returned as she washed her dishes.

"I see. Well then...I suppose I will see you in a week's time, then?"

"Yep! I'll see you later, Hat Lady!"

With her goodbyes said, Jinx finished up the dishes before heading off to the living room. And after picking up a bag from the couch, she then made her way over to the door, falling out of Caitlyn's line of sight. Thinking that was that, Caitlyn moved back to her own plate, wanting to finish her meal. However, barely even seconds before she picked up a chunk of pancake with her fork, Jinx's voice piped up again.

"Oh, wait! There's one more thing I forgot to tell you, and it's **super duper** important." Looking up from her breakfast, Caitlyn found Jinx back, peeking from along the wall that separated the kitchen entrance from the front door.

"Hmm?" Caitlyn arched her brow, mildly confused.

"Don't go into that one bedroom. You know, the one across from yours. That one is private. Got it?"

Caitlyn tilted her head at her words, and couldn't help but ask, "...Why?"

Instantly, Jinx's eyes widened, as she looked to scrambled for a response.

"Oh, uh...no reason! Just..stay out of it," she let out. But after a second's pass, she frowned before adding, "I mean it, Hat Lady."

As the girl both looked and sounded completely serious, Caitlyn could tell that she was awaiting confirmation from her. A sign that Caitlyn understood the gravity of her words.

"Alright. I won't enter that particular room."

"...Good."

With that said, the girl ducked back out again. And as Caitlyn could hear the door, open and subsequently close, she knew that Jinx had actually left this time.

Wondering why Jinx placed such an emphasis on that room, she furrowed her brows. But with a shake of her head she decided to return to her meal, knowing that it was getting cold. But as she picked up her utensils, she couldn't help but ponder how the days would pass with the criminal away.

* * *

Curiosity could be a good thing, at times. It can lead to great discoveries, new inventions, important revelations, on and on. Caitlyn often found herself grateful for her naturally high curiosity, because it significantly aided her in her line of work. Specifically her work as a detective.

As such, Caitlyn often believed curiosity to be useful and even beneficial at times.

However, now was not one of those times.

Caitlyn would argue that it would be generally unwise to ignore the words of a mad woman. Especially one that is not only capable, but more than willing to blow someone to smithereens while enjoying it all the way.

But somehow despite herself knowing how utterly stupid it was, she found herself standing in front of the one room Jinx explicitly told her _not_ to enter. She just couldn't resist her inquisitive nature urging her towards it.

And to make matters worse, not only was curiosity reeling her in, but boredom as well had also brought her outside the room.

As much as she loathed to admit it, Jinx was right. She was bored out of her skull, and she _had_ already finished all of the books she had. And seeing as she wasn't all that fond of hexavision shows or video games, all that left her to do with was exploring the home for entertainment.

However, all the other rooms had already become well-known to her over the past few weeks. She had not only seen them, but walked through them and practically _lived_ in them now. They were nothing new. And even the courtyard, while nice to relax in on occasion, could only provide so much relief from boredom.

Escaping wasn't even an option either. While at the courtyard one day, Caitlyn had attempted to toss a rag out one of the courtyard exits. And sure enough, just as Jinx had said, an electric fence had surged to life, frying the old towel almost instantly. And seeing as she had almost no proficiency with advanced technology, Caitlyn saw no means of disarming the fence long enough to pass by it unharmed. So she had to merely accept the fact that there was no getting by it.

So all that left her with, by the end of it all, was the room.

But it...it was new. _Fresh_. Almost... _exciting_ in a dangerous way.

She just couldn't help herself.

Considering it was the only thing she hasn't seen yet, and that it was supposed to be forbidden to her-it was easily understandable why she felt so drawn to it. She knew it was a dumb idea, but when she weighed the risks...well, it was starting to sound less and less dumb.

After all, Jinx _did_ say that her stay at the institute would take a week at the very least, which would leave Caitlyn with at least three more days. More than ample enough time to explore the room in depth without Jinx being ever the wiser. And even if Caitlyn happened to disrupt anything within, it was easily enough time to tidy up things as well.

So all in all, it was looking pretty favorable.

 _It really shouldn't be an issue. I simply go in, explore and sate this impossible curiosity of mine for the time being, and then leave, returning everything properly. All before Jinx returns. It is a risk, certainly, but a measured one. And I suppose if I_ _ **were**_ _to be discovered in my actions...I can't say I would be_ _ **too**_ _unhappy being killed in a likely horrible manner after sateing my bored needs. I could even say it was worth it all._

Letting out a chuckle, she questioned her sanity a little, in response to her thoughts. But with her mind made up, she moved to open the door, taking her first glimpse into a room full of insanity.

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

 **You know, I'm actually rather satisfied with this chapter. Especially when compared to the last two, ideas seemed to flow much easier with this chapter and it was much easier to write (even with a lot of it being merely reworked content from the original Broken Gears) It also shows a bit in the timeframe too, considering this was released barely even two weeks after the last chapter.**

 **Now here's hoping the rest will be just as easy to write!**

 **(Extra note: I'll probably be busy this month [November] because of a personal book I'm trying to write for NaNoWriMo, but I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as possible.)**

 **Thanks for reading as always!**


	10. Chapter 10: The First Entries

Insanity and anger aren't necessarily interchangeable words. One can easily be angry while being perfectly sane, or insane while fairly calm. So as such, it can be argued that insanity and anger aren't very dependent on one another, per se.

However, as Caitlyn quickly noted, there _is_ a reason as to why the definition of 'mad' can mean both insanity and anger. Because as she laid eyes on the room before her, she realized that mad in _both senses_ of the word clearly fit the description of it.

She hadn't been entirely sure of what to expect when she had opened the door. But one thing is for certain: she definitely did not expect photos and scribbles all over a wall or torn newspapers scattered throughout. And she _especially_ did not expect to see a broken desk chair lying on the floor next to an equally broken hole in the wall.

Yes. Mad was quite an accurate description.

Gingerly stepping into the area so to not disturb it any further, she took stock of everything within. Besides the hole that was more than likely the byproduct of a furious Jinx, there was no other visible depressions or noticeable features in the walls.

And as she made note of that fact, it only piqued her curiosity further about the glaring cavity in the wall. After all, it was clear that smashing chairs in walls wasn't a common act for Jinx. And Caitlyn has never really known the girl to be prone to fits of rage either. So whatever could have driven her to that point must have been especially agitating.

"...Interesting," she couldn't help but murmur, as she stared at the hole. But after a few minute's time, she acknowledged the fact that she wouldn't gain any further information from merely looking at it, and decided to move onwards.

Taking to the wall opposite, she found there was a rather large desk stationed against it. But while the desk itself was rather unimportant, it was the surroundings of it that made it relevant, as beneath and on top of the desk lied the majority of the torn newspaper articles scattered about. Wondering what they were about, Caitlyn walked over and picked up one of the loose leaflets to examine its content.

And with a quick view, she found that it detailed an article on her of all people on its front page. Raising a brow, she then scanned it, noticing that it was rather familiar. And as she finished it, she remembered it was an editorial on the day she expanded the police department to incorporate more rookies and training sessions earlier in the year. It hadn't been all that significant of an event, so Caitlyn had forgotten about it all. But as she held the article in her hands, she remembered the day as if it were just yesterday.

Pausing in her reminisce, she briefly wondered why Jinx would be in possession of such an article. After all, it wasn't relevant to her at all. Or at least, not in Caitlyn's mind, it wasn't. Shaking her head, Caitlyn decided it wasn't an important thought before moving on. Setting the article down, she looked around eying each paper. But as she picked up another paper that looked interesting, she was mildly shocked as she found it was another article on her.

This time, it was one depicting her birthday two years before, where her parents had thrown an elaborate gala for her.

As she examined the article, however, Caitlyn couldn't help but frown. Setting it aside, she looked once more through the piles of newspapers, scanning much more intensely than before. And just as she imagined, she found _even more_ articles pertaining to her herself. And not just her, but articles on her mother, Vi, and some others around her. It was...disturbing, to say the least, and she decided to move away from it all.

She wasn't entirely sure why Jinx was collecting so much information on her and those around her, but she wasn't sure she wanted to know either. But it did explain how Jinx seemingly knew so much about her, such as the date of her birthday, or how Jinx knew so much about Caitlyn's mother and her inventions.

Shaking her head, Caitlyn turned away from the desk. Instead, she faced the far back wall. The wall with the collection of pictures and scribbled words scattered about that she had seen upon first entering the room.

At a broad glance, she couldn't help but feel that with connecting lines drawn between each picture, and words detailing each connection, it looked like a stalker's masterpiece. Feeling somewhat in awe of the amount of time and dedication it took to produce this amount of work, it also left her even more disturbed than the articles had.

After all, as she moved closer, she could see the pictures were images of Vi and herself, with occasional pictures of Zaun and Piltover as well.

Why Jinx was placing such a significance on the both of them through the newspaper articles and now this wall of photos, Caitlyn didn't know. But determined to find out what the girl's obsession with them was about, she studied the wall, identifying each feature.

Several things of note popped out to her easily, including one of an old picture of a house in what appeared to be Zaun. Looking at it's caption, she read it aloud in a dull murmur.

"...Our old Home. I miss it..."

Frowning at that, she looked at another picture next to it.

It was one of Vi, with its caption reading, "This Vi girl. She looks...kinda like Violet would. Is she...is my sister? Is my sister still _alive_? ...Need to find out who this Vi is..."

As she drew in a sharp breath, Caitlyn realized how significant this particular revelation was.

 _...This answers everything. Or at least, everything revolving around Jinx's obsession with Vi. She must have Vi mistaken for whatever sister she once had. And knowing Jinx, it more or less explains why she focuses on annoying the hell out of Vi in all of their interactions..._

Looking not too far away from it, Caitlyn found another picture of Vi, not far from the first.

"Vi...she really is Violet! She lived!" It read.

It confirmed her thoughts completely. But with her newfound knowledge only came newfound questions, that she didn't see a means of answering at the moment. So as such, she decided to return to the train of thought later, moving onto another recent picture.

This time, it was one of herself. Caitlyn recognized it as one taken from a magazine piece on her, likely the one dated a little bit after she had recruited Vi. Looking at the picture's note, Caitlyn read, "Caitlyn Rosen, Sheriff of Piltover. Heh. She's practically a hero now...saving Vi and ridding the town of bad guys. Pretty cute too _."_

Caitlyn couldn't help but tilt her head at that last comment. _Cute? She finds me...cute? What...?_

She scavenged around, attempting to find another image of herself. She wasn't sure what Jinx truly meant by that, but she had a strong feeling she wouldn't like it. But surely Jinx couldn't actually be... _attracted_ to her? Could she?

Caitlyn found what she was looking for farther along the wall. One that looked like it had been taken recently, within the last couple of weeks even. It was her lying asleep in the bed of her bedroom here in Jinx's apartment. More than likely during the first night, as she looked to be in a lot of pain as she slept.

Reading the note underneath, Caitlyn was taken aback further.

"I hurt her. _Badly_. This is a reminder to not screw up again. I don't want her dead. Still need her to help me, like she helped Vi, after all. And maybe one day...for love me back?"

Caitlyn blinked. Then she blinked again.

She was dumbstruck, unable to form a single intelligent thought really. Even after re-reading it multiple times, she couldn't find understanding. And all that passed through her mind were broken fragments of sentences speeding through too fast for her to even make sense of anything. But after several more minutes of dead thoughts had gone by, Caitlyn finally reached a relatively coherent string of thought.

 _Does she...does Jinx actually..._ _ **love**_ _me? No that...that doesn't make sense._ _It's..no, its impossible. Wrong even. A criminal falling in love with a sheriff? And what does she mean, help her like I did Vi?! She can't possibly mean help her from her own insanity? So what, then? Help her out of crime? Give her a chance of redemption like I did Vi? I mean...I could always try. But Vi...she was never as bad as Jinx is. Even if she may have killed more people than Jinx's estimated count, Jinx has cost the city more than_ _ **thrice**_ _of what Vi has cost it. And Jinx has become so notorious that I don't believe I can even do anything to aid her. I don't even know where to_ _ **begin**_ _to try and help her._

Shaking her head, Caitlyn pulled over the small desk chair from under the desk and rolled it over to the complexing wall. Sitting down on it, she rubbed her brow in deep thought and stared at the wall at a wide glance, trying in vain to take it all in.

 _This...this is why Jinx longed to capture me? Not to serve as her plaything, but to...help her? How does she even_ _ **expect**_ _me to anything?_

Caitlyn sighed.

* * *

 _How does one fix a broken mind?_

That's the thought that has been plaguing Caitlyn for the past couple of hours. She was still sitting in the small, chamber of a room, and still analyzing the insane pictures and scribbles on the wall.

But not a single thing in the room made a lick of sense to her. Most of what she saw was just Jinx's random crazed thoughts in written form, with random pictures attached, like a note that said "I like food" of all things.

It was annoying to sift through, and even though she attempted to ignore much of the mess, it was impossible to escape all of the idle thoughts of a madwomen. But still she searched, and eventually, she did manage to find some few useful notes amongst the madness. Nothing overly significant at all, like the revelations about Vi and Jinx's relationship or her... _feelings_ towards Caitlyn had been. But there were some notes that Caitlyn had found quite interesting.

She was able to gather some ideas about Jinx's true personality through the notes, with several showing her sides of Jinx that she had never thought she would see before.

For example, she learned that Jinx admires Vi's gauntlets and somehow knew the mechanisms behind them, through one of the notes. And through another, she learned that Jinx loved animals and dogs in particular. The girl had always yearned for a puppy apparently.

It was otherwise unhelpful information, considering such notes didn't get Caitlyn a single step closer to figuring out what to do with the girl. But they were fascinating still to her, and truthfully, she didn't know why. Maybe...it was because they humanized the girl that Caitlyn had seen so long as nothing more than a lunatic. The few weeks they had amicably spent together had worked towards that, of course. But there was something about these little intimate tidbits that brought Caitlyn closer to who Jinx was underneath the terrorist.

However, beyond what she had already seen, she did not manage to find anything that was of true importance. And she although she had been studying through the room for a while now-searching thoroughly throughout, scattering papers onto the floor as she went through them, and examining each and every picture on the walls-she found nothing.

Nothing at all. Not in the papers on the floor. Nor the drawers of the desk. Nor the singular drawer of the lamp table. _Nothing_.

It was stupefying, to say the least. And fairly infuriating. For some inexplicable reason, since discovering this room, she has felt a burning desire to understand Jinx more and to find if there was any way she could possibly help the girl. But how could she if she had no clue who Jinx really was or even a way to obtain such a clue?

Sighing, she leaned against one of the walls and closed her eyes to think.

 _Is it even worth to try to help her?_

Caitlyn had contemplated this a couple of times already. She tried to justify her want to help Jinx by comparing it to her prior want to redeem Vi long ago. Vi had been a hard case to get the city council and the mayor to accept as well, for they hated the idea of Caitlyn rehabilitating a known criminal, even if juvenile. As if was, they barely relented after the fact that Vi was the one to save the miners in that one operation incident came to light.

But rather than trust that Vi could be redeemed, it was clear to Caitlyn that the only reason the mayor had accepted was that he trusted her words enough to permit her the chance.

So when Caitlyn thought about how hard it would be for Jinx to be accepted...well, she couldn't help but frown. Jinx is almost a thousand times more infamous than Vi ever was. Even considering how the estimated count of deaths related to Jinx is lower than Vi's estimated count was, it didn't excuse the damage Jinx has caused in her time. All the money spent towards repairing Jinx's damage cost the city too much. It was money that the city could have tripled in size, or even fund Heimerdinger's crazy ideas and inventions for practically a lifetime! Well...probably not, but still, it was a lot.

To say the least, Jinx is a lot bigger of a problem then Vi ever was. If the mayor or the city council did not approve of Vi at first, why would they have a different opinion of Jinx, who is more the criminal than Vi was?

But...Caitlyn still gave Vi a chance, and Vi turned out alright. Maybe a bit unpredictable and rough around the edges, but still good overall. Who is to say that Jinx can't end up the same way?

She could become an honest citizen, improving things for Piltover through the technological and mechanical brilliance she showed Caitlyn. It would be much harder to convince the council and the mayor of this. But if she even had a chance of redeeming the criminal, she needs to first find something that can prove not only herself, but the city as well that Jinx is capable of being redeemed.

* * *

Caitlyn was snapping.

She was a perfectionist in her nature and a persevering one at that. She could not simply live with the minimum or even average in life and strove to be exceptional in every and anything she did. It's what led her to end the crime in Piltover at the ripe age of 16, at least until Jinx came to town. It's what lead her to be arguably the best sheriff Piltover has ever had. And at times, she valued this particular of hers.

But right now, she was quite annoyed with it, as this search was _pissing_ her off. Her nature to make things right was causing her to want to redeem Jinx and give her a chance to change her life for the better, even though the criminal was most likely a lost cause. But she listened to her nature and keep looking.

It took another hour, another long, torturous hour of searching through the seams of the room for information, but she finally found something. This something being a diary- _Jinx's diary_. In retrospect, it was something that she probably could have found a long time ago, had she looked more intently.

In fact, she _did_ find it a long time ago, inside the dusty little lamp desk that sat off to the side of the room. But at the time, she simply did not register it as a diary. It was rather inconspicuous on the outside, looking like any old book and when she first found and opened it, the first half of it was completely empty.

So she had just shrugged it off at the time as nothing more than a blank book, deciding to return to searching elsewhere. But when she had returned to it much later, and actually skimmed through it, imagine her surprise to actually find some entries.

Sitting down, she moved to read through the entries, hoping to find something worthwhile within since everything else had proved to be little towards progress.

' _Entry One._

 _Hello future self! Not really sure how to address this, because I'm speaking to myself. The future version of me anyways. So I'm just going to say hi, hoping that you'll say hi back, future me!_

 _...Er...assuming that I'll actually come back to look at these entries. Whatever. I'm sure I will._

 _Anyways, I decided to start this diary to write down all my thoughts, random feelings, and blueprints. As you may have noticed, I left a good chunk of the pages blank so that if Violet ever manages to find it from its hidden location, she'll just think it is a blank book and leave it alone. That way she won't read it!_

 _...Hopefully.'_

Caitlyn's left eye twitched in annoyance. _Well, that explains those damnable empty pages._

Rolling her eyes she continued.

' _If she actually searched through it and found my entries, it would suck. I don't really have a better way of keeping this stuff private either. If I put a lock on it, she will really know that it is important, and will pick it. I want to try turning this into those secret messages we sometimes play within some assignments at school, but I don't really know how to make a decoder. So for now, I'm just gonna stick with the empty pages deal._

 _I wish she wasn't so smart and curious though. It's annoying. She's only a little 4-year-old, but can read a lot already and I feel like she's smarter than me somehow! Mom says she gets it from Dad and he always said that he was pretty mische...miskiev...mischievous (is that how it's spelled?) when he was a kid and it's just rubbing off on her. But it makes things impossible to hide from her tiny hands!'_

That name-Violet-it came up again. Caitlyn remembered from the notes that Jinx believes that Vi is her sister Violet. But Vi never said anything about her full name. Especially that it was Violet.

Then again, Vi told Caitlyn that she didn't remember much of anything before she was six. Maybe she forgot her full name as well, remembering only a nickname. Caitlyn felt that was a reasonable explanation.

' _B'sides that though, today was a good day. It was the first day of sixth grade and it went pretty well. I was kinda a bit bored at the beginning because the dumb teachers just went on and on during the orientation, but it got better later on. I got placed in a mechanical engineering class, and so far it's awesome! I think I'll learn a lot from it and the teacher is nice too. She's taught us some pretty fun and neat stuff without being boring either. I hope that I can learn how become an engineer from her, just like Dad too.'_

Caitlyn skimmed through the rest about Jinx's school, because while a good and wholesome read, she found it to be of little importance. She needed revelations about Jinx, not slices of her past life. She flipped some more before picking up again as the text detailed a time after her classes.

' _After school was fun too. I went exploring a bit-even though mom hates it when I do that-and I found this cool toy shop near the rich districts. The owner was a nice old guy who showed me all kinds of neat things._

 _I bought these little boxing gloves he showed me for Violet, using the money I got from doing chores over the summer. She loves hitting things and I'm hoping that they won't just make her happy, but will also make her punches hurt a lot less when she decides to hit me instead of her pillows or toys._

 _Maybe I'm just very weak for a 9-year-old, but she seems really strong and violent for a 4-year-old. I guess her nickname, Vi, doesn't just stand for Violet, but stands for Violence, heh._

 _Oh, I right. Before I go, I almost forgot. I saw this weird - but a good kind of weird - girl when coming home from the toy shop. She had this big and purple hat on, and she had this blueish purple hair. She was walking with a guy that looked like her dad and they had come from the toy store too, with a toy gun that she was messing with. I don't really know why I remember her, but I figured I talk about her because I like her. I guess the hat is pretty funny to look at or something. Maybe I should talk to her if I see her again. See if she's as funny as her hat._

 _Anyways, that's all for today! See ya, future me!_

 _\- Jessie.'_

"Jessie? So that's her real name?" Caitlyn murmured aloud as she read the closing line.

Taking a moment, Caitlyn processed the new information. She has a real name to Jinx now; even if it was most likely just a nickname. It could help her though, if she were to find the full name, as having a true name to Jinx would allow Caitlyn to access birth records and research the girl. But while this entry tells her that Jinx's real name was something akin to Jessie, it's not enough. She needs more.

But aside from that, Caitlyn couldn't help but also linger on the last part of the entry. With amusement, she finds it uncanny that Jinx had stumbled across her as a child. Of course, there was no guarantee yet that it was Caitlyn, but she felt it was safe to assume that _she_ was the girl that Jinx had been describing because after all, that expression matching her completely. There aren't too many girls that prance about in top hat and fewer still with indigo (not bluish-purple; that's not even a proper name!) hair.

She even remembers the toy shop that Jinx spoke off. It was a pleasant little shop that Caitlyn had frequented until it had unfortunately closed down after several years. So she was almost 100% certain it was her Jinx detailed.

But searching her mind, she wondered if she had seen Jinx herself, back then. Since Jinx was 9 then, Caitlyn would have been around 11, so it was too long for Caitlyn to completely remember. But it was a possibility that she could have glanced at the other girl for a moment, only to forget it later.

Letting out a yawn, Caitlyn realized that she was starting to get tired. So, closing her book with a sigh the Sheriff decided to move back to the comfort of her room and finish reading it there. Not to mention that she knew that Jinx would be coming back soon, but didn't know exactly when, since Jinx didn't specify. The criminal might choose to come back today by surprise, or she might come back a week from now. Either way, it would be better to minimize risk and keep things careful and private in her own room.

She didn't want to be caught red-handed in the one room Jinx had specifically told her **not** to go into, of course. So holding the book in under her arm, she went back to her room, not before taking special care to readjust everything in the room back to the way it was beforehand.

When she got back to her room, she turned on the light and propped herself onto the bed. Getting comfortable, Caitlyn then reopened the diary to the second entry of the diary.

' _Entry 2._

Hello again! _Oh, I guess I don't have to keep saying hello, but who cares. Anyways, today was another good day, if I ignore Vi testing her boxing gloves on my face to wake me up. That hurt a bit. Okay, no, it hurt a_ _ **lot**_ _._

 _I started on my first project in mechanical engineering class today! My teacher is having us build hextech devices and let us choose from a list of devices. I am going to make a digital clock because I thought it would be the easiest, although my teacher thinks it may be too complicated for me. I told her that I can do it and Dad said he'll help if I need it too. I already have the designs for it too. So all there is to it is just to do it.'_

There was a blueprint at the bottom of the page underneath the words, showcasing Jinx's detailed work. Caitlyn couldn't understand all of it, but got the gist of its design. It did look complicated, but also had a certain beauty to it.

 _So she is a prodigy in engineering. That explains how she became so adept at weaponry and their mechanisms. She must have learned about weapon machinery, and applied her knowledge of other machinery to it._

Caitlyn let the thoughts pass and kept reading the rest of the entry.

 _'Oh, I also saw that girl from yesterday again! She still had that silly hat too. I think I will call her...Hat Girl. Yeah, that sounds good._

 _She was outside my classroom today, waiting for my class to end. I think my teacher is her mom or something, because when class was over, she walked in and was talking to the teacher before giving her a hug. They kinda look alike too. Same blueish-purple hair._

 _She didn't notice me, and I didn't get to hear much of their conversation, but I heard the name "Caitlyn", from my teacher though._

 _I think that's Hat Girl's name maybe? Caitlyn. It's a nice name and it fits her. But I am still gonna call her Hat Girl, heh._

 _I still wonder if I should talk to her or not._

 _I doodled her on the next page so that I won't forget her and so you can see her, but that's all for today. See ya later!_

 _\- Jessie.'_

 _So that all but confirms it. Jinx was indeed talking about me._ Caitlyn flipped the page to make sure and sure enough, there was a crude drawing of a girl that looked just like her as a child.

 _She spent her childhood at Piltover, right under my nose?_ Caitlyn couldn't help but think. _She must have been in the school where my mother taught class at before she quit to pursue invention full time._

Caitlyn chuckled to herself.

 _To think, I was right next to the girl who would turn out to be my enemy in the future, but was blind to it. Well, they say hindsight is 20/20 for good reason._

She shook her head before returning to the book, trying to learn more about the enigma that was still Jinx.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **Not much to say bout this one, but just wanted to announce that I'm getting back into things again after my intentional hiatus during November. Let me know how you enjoyed this chapter though! It's always appreciated of course.**


	11. Chapter 11: Descent

As Caitlyn progressed further into Jinx's diary, she was starting to think it was futile to continue. Because with every new page she turned, nothing new was gathered; and while the entries were still providing interesting glances into Jinx's past life, they were ultimately useless in the grand scheme of things. Nothing about them revealed to Caitlyn any redeemable qualities that Jinx might have, or that Jinx has the potential to be anything other than the criminal she is right now, at least.

Really, nothing beyond the first two entries has provided _anything_ remotely significant.

Those two at least had been confirmed some of Caitlyn's guesses about the girl, as well as revealed some new information, such as the hint the closings gave towards Jinx's real name and the fact that she had attended the same childhood school as Caitlyn-and was taught by Caitlyn's mother of all people at that. And as Caitlyn thought on that fact, calling it a coincidence was almost an understatement to her.

To think, the only thing that had separated the two is the fact that Caitlyn is a year or so older than Jinx and was a grade higher at the time as a result.

She could almost laugh at how close they had been.

But as insightful as that information was, all the entries beyond the first two were more mediocre than anything. Some were completely mundane and borderline tedious to read even. Caitlyn might have gathered a minor glimpse into Jinx's past life here and there-finding a couple entries mentioning herself in them, as well (Jinx had apparently been quite captivated with her for whatever reason)-but nothing of true importance could be learned from them.

And it was quickly becoming frustrating for the Sheriff.

So much so, that Caitlyn had almost set the diary down after reading a fifth insignificant chapter in a row. It was just too much slice of life; nothing consequential. Nothing that gave Caitlyn any concrete answers on why Jinx is the way she is, or what it was that had deeply changed her from the seemingly carefree and innocent child she once was.

She lost track of the number of sighs and groans she let out as she skimmed through more and more entries. But after what she assumed had been two weeks after the second entry-the entries weren't exactly dated so she could only make an educated guess on the actual elapsed time between each one-she finally found a more promising entry. And with it mildly reigniting her interest in the diary, she picked the book back up with a renewed hope of finding some answers within.

...

' _Entry 16_

 _Today, I got into a fight with my folks…_

 _Dad lost his job at the railroad station yesterday and was talking about looking for a new one today. At least, that's what he told Mom-he never tells me anything bad. But I was kinda...er-what's the word again? Eavesdrop? Yeah, I think that's what Mom said before. I kinda eavesdropped on them._

 _He also said that he might have a job for some bigshot scientist and he'll get to work as an engineer again; although he was a structural technician before (I think), and he'll be doing different things now instead of making sure the railroads and trains are good so they can go where they need to on time._

 _But even though he says that it's a good job and probably better than anything else he can find, since he'll make even more money than he did at his last job, the problem is that we'll have to move and it's in a completely different place: Zaun!_

 _I hate that place so much. I've only been there once-when Dad had to go to a convention and brought me, Mom, and Vi with him-but it was so icky and scary, and it was hard to breathe everywhere. I didn't like it at all._

 _Mom didn't either, at first, and she talked to Dad about it. She told him that she can make enough money for us to stay here in Piltover until he finds another job. But Dad just told her that he'll make double what he used to make with this new job and that it would be better than struggling off of only her money._

 _...And she started to agree with him after that._

 _But I don't_ _ **want**_ _to move, though. I love my classes, and my engineering teacher is my favorite person in like the whole universe. And besides that, I still want to see Hat Girl again. I don't know why but I've been dreaming about her for a while now. We're always the best of friends in my dreams too, and we go to the park and get ice cream and have a lot of fun together every time._

 _I know it sounds crazy. I mean, I haven't even actually talked to her, yet I'm having all these wild dreams and thoughts about her. But I don't know. She just_ _ **seems**_ _like someone I would have loads of fun with._

 _Ugh. I want to see her again so much. And I definitely don't want to leave without getting to._

 _I asked Mom and Dad if we could just stay and I told them that I really don't want to move. But they didn't really listen to me._

 _Dad just patted me on the head and said things would be better in Zaun and mom spoke to me in that voice she always does when she doesn't want to hear me. She told me,_

" _Jessebelle, your father believes we will be better off in Zaun and if what he says is true, I agree with him. I don't like it much either, but we're still moving. That's that."_

 _She didn't even listen. They didn't care_ _ **at all**_ _._

 _It's so unfair!_

 _I even got sent to my room because they 'didn't want to hear any more'!_

 _...Stupid parents._

 _Stupid Zaun._

 _And stupid thoughts of Hat Girl. I don't even think I'll be able to talk to her before I leave…_

 _...Maybe I should just...I don't know...run away or something._

 _-Jessie'_

...

Caitlyn closed her eyes.

"Jessebelle…"

She teased the name on her tongue, before repeating it again.

" _Jessebelle_."

She did remember hearing her mother speak about a Jessebelle all those years ago, but it was odd to finally have a name behind Jinx. Arguably odder than reading about how the girl had spent several nights dreaming of her, even. Although, that was definitely...bizarre by itself and gave her slight discomfort when she lingered on it if she was being honest.

But putting that aside, she wouldn't have expected Jinx's true name to be Jessebelle of all things. It was...unique and somehow, at the same time, Caitlyn felt that it fit the girl in an inexplicable way. But with a shake of her head, she returned to the more important revelations that the entry made known.

Taking the time to focus, she recalled the things Vi has told her about her background. Specifically, Vi telling her that she had been in Piltover since she was roughly 6 years old. And as Caitlyn noted that Vi and Jinx could not have lived in Zaun for more than 2 years-if her guesses about the chronology of the entries is correct-Caitlyn wondered what could have happened in those two years that had left the two orphaned and seperated, and had left Vi an amnesiac in Piltover.

Caitlyn wasn't sure of course, but she reasoned that it could have been the same event; something that had not only taken Vi's childhood away from her but molded Jessie into Jinx as well. Returning to the book in her hands, she knew the only way to find out whether or not it was through more entries.

...

' _Entry 20._

 _Today is it. We finally finished packing and today is my last day in Piltover._

 _It...really_ _ **sucks**_ _. Sucks more than being grounded or breaking a toy. And even though I hope that maybe...maybe Zaun won't be as bad as it sounds-I think I'm hoping for too much and it will be just as bad as I think it will be._

 _...You know what-I don't want to think about the move anymore. It makes me too sad to even think, and today was too good to be all that sad right now._

 _I mean, it even started with one of my teachers giving me cookies! Since it was my last day, he gave me a whole heap of chocolate chips, and I think they were the best cookies I've ever had. They were so warm and soft, and they just melted when I bit into them! Oh, they were so good._

 _After that, my classmates all gave me some goodbye cards. I was sad to get them at first, but when I read them, I felt happy that all of them cared about me so much. And some of their cards were pretty funny too._

 _When school ended, everyone said bye and Mom took me to my favorite park one last time. I was sad about it too since it was my last visit, but I was happy to be able to swing again. They were always my favorite part of the park and I think I'm going to miss them the most. Mom said that I'm feeling something called bittersweet. It's not really a fun feeling._

 _Oh, I saw Hat Girl one last time, too!_

 _She was at the park too, with her dad, and for some reason...I felt braver today. I don't know if it was because I'm moving but I actually went over to her this time and_ _ **talked**_ _to her believe it or not. I actually did it! I even asked her to swing with me. It was just like how I've dreamt it, but she was a lot prettier than I thought and her hat was a lot bigger. She was just as nice as I imagined though._

 _We talked about things while we swung. Nothing really special, just silly things and things about each other, and I actually learned a lot about her. She told me her name (though I already knew it), her favorite color, and how she wants to go hunting with her dad one day. She told me that she already knows how to use her Dad's hunting gun too._

 _I told her stuff about me too. She said that she liked my name when I told her it, and when I told her my best jokes, she laughed at every single one. She has a really nice laugh. It was so much fun talking and playing with her. I never spent time with anyone like her and I wish we could have done it again. But we couldn't and didn't have too long to swing together either, since Mom made me leave to pack our things before we left Piltover._

 _But before I left, Hat Girl asked me if I would be her friend. And she asked if we could see each other again. She sounded like she had as much fun as I did._

 _...It made telling her no hurt even more._

 _I even told her why, so she wouldn't be sad. But I don't think it worked at all since she still looked pretty upset. She looked like she was going to cry. It almost made_ _ **me**_ _cry, and even though she told me we'd see each other again one day, I don't think either of us believed it._

 _...I just wish that I hadn't been so scared to talk to her before. We could have been friends already and we could've swung at that park every week. We could've played games and shared our toys-we would have been friends._

 _At least for a little while..._

 _-Jessie'_

…

It was almost funny.

Caitlyn found herself feeling the same pang of sadness overcome her now just as it had back then. But no laughs were had over the surprising parallel. Instead, a few tears began to well at her vision and she had to set the book aside for a moment.

She remembered the event, of course. It was a memory was so old that she had forgotten most of it, but hearing it easily reopened the long-forgotten scars on her heart deep down.

One might think it would have been a simple thing for a young Caitlyn to ignore, but the rejection had happened at such a ripe and vulnerable age for her that as a child, hearing Jinx-or the then Jessie-tell her that they couldn't be friends devastated her.

After all, she hadn't really been the type of person to make friends easily.

Hell, she still isn't _now_ , even years later and as a grown woman.

So books and other resources were resorted to, in hopes of filling what she had sorely lacked in social skills. But books could never quite sufficiently fill the gap, and as the death of a beloved aunt had also been fairly recently at the time, she had been left feeling far more vulnerable and depressed than a child should ever be. And so, after being rejected the friendship with Jinx, something she had been _really_ excited for, well, it had just been the icing on the cake, to say the least.

Caitlyn couldn't help to dryly chuckle to herself as she recalled how she had cried all throughout that night and how her father had to bring ice cream and watch a movie with her to calm her down.

Looking back on it all now, it was a relatively insignificant blip of sadness in her life, as she had been able to move on past it after some time had passed, and it even had brought along some positive results-since being so lonely and hurt at such a young age had led to her reading her father's law books in her spare time, after having read all of her fantasy stories already. And as that helped shape her into who she was today, the Sheriff of Piltover, she didn't quite mourn anything, nor did she want to alter the circumstances of her life too much.

But still...who knows. Maybe she could have been able to make a difference in Jinx's life.

Her mother had once told her about a promising student in her engineering class way back when she had taught at that middle school for a few years. And that student was obviously Jinx, now that Caitlyn could look in hindsight.

But regardless of whether or not she had known who Jinx was or would become, Caitlyn could have still approached Jinx and befriended her long before that day in the park. Her mother had even encouraged her to do so, claiming that the other girl would prove to be a great friend. But Caitlyn had been stubborn and refused to reach out of her comfort zone, causing her mother to drop the matter. Caitlyn had been willing to be friends with someone, but was utterly unwilling to make the first steps towards such a connection. So she didn't choose to take the chance to know Jinx and that had been that.

But maybe...if she _had_ actually taken the opportunity, and had been braver-she could have befriended the other girl. And maybe, she could have even saved Jinx from whatever had driven her insane.

As improbable as it sounds, being Jinx's friend would likely have enabled Caitlyn to know more about Jinx's family situation earlier than the day in the park. And then she could have tried to get her own parents to help Jinx's family out of their financial situation by providing Jinx's father with a job or something.

But as Caitlyn let out a heavy sigh, she knew that no matter what could have been, there is nothing she can do about it all now, many years later. As tragic as it was, the past is in the past after all.

So instead of continuing to wallow over lost opportunities and poor decisions, she decided to let the thoughts pass and read the next entry in hopes that instead of changing the past, she could manage to change the future by finding a means to grant Jinx a second chance in life. A second chance for them to become the friends Jinx had so longed for as a child.

* * *

' _Entry 21_

 _I was right._

 _Zaun absolutely sucks._

 _And I_ _ **hate**_ _it._

 _There hasn't been one good thing all day! First, this jerk butcher tried to cheat us and make us pay for meat more than ten times what it was worth. He wouldn't even sell it to us fairly until after dad got on his case!_

 _And then, after that, some stupid kids were messing with us when we got to our new house. One of them sprayed me with water too, and I was soaked for hours! I don't even know if it really_ _ **was**_ _water, either, because it was all greenish and sticky. Ugh._

 _Our new home sucks too. The heating is out, so it was really cold and it took forever for me to dry out from that stupid prank from those stupid kids. We had candles and the fireplace the house had to keep warmer, but it was_ _ **still**_ _freezing all day._

 _Ugh, I hate this place so much._

 _Even the poor district we lived in Piltover was better than this. At least it still had police, so there wasn't much crime or any dumb kids messing around._

 _I don't think there's a_ _ **single**_ _officer in Zaun. It's even scummier that the poor Piltover districts, and ten times more dangerous too. I was scared the entire time we were unpacking because I thought thieves would show up and steal all our stuff and kill us. I_ _ **still**_ _am scared that something bad like that is going to happen. And even Mom is scared too._

 _Dad told us not to worry too much and said we'll move to a better location when his job starts paying him so we won't have to stay in this crummy place for too long. But he sounds scared too, so it doesn't make me feel any better._

 _I just wish we could have stayed in Piltover…_

 _-Jessie'_

Frowning, Caitlyn found herself really unwilling to continue reading the dreary words of a practically depressed little girl. So, hoping to get to a point past all the sadness, Caitlyn skimmed through the book hoping for something significant still. Anything that wasn't the countless grievances about Jinx's new life in Zaun that Caitlyn kept seeing.

And while she did see one entry about Jinx's birthday, which a pleasant change of pace, barely even another entry after it, Jinx had spoken about some more problems that the chemical and anarchy loving city had brought her.

Letting out a sigh, Caitlyn only skipped it.

"...Let's see. Something about school. Something about smoky air. Something about Vi, blah blah _blah_ ," she muttered in mild annoyance as she went along.

"Something about…"

But she trailed off as her eyes caught the sight of a page entirely different. "Wait...oh... _oh_ _dear_ …"

Caitlyn's frown returned deeper as she examined this peculiar entry, and with her blue eyes narrowing down at it, she couldn't help but think, _What...is this?_

The page was different from the others, in a very alarmingly disturbing way. It was smeared with some crusty substance prominently displayed in the form of fingerprints across the page. And as Caitlyn inspected it closer, she realized that Jinx must have had _blood_ on her hands as she wrote this entry.

She meditated on it all, wondering why the hell would a young Jinx have blood on her hands. But realizing that just staring at it wasn't going to bring her to the answer, she decided to read the accompanying entry, hoping to find some form of understanding.

As she read, she found that even the text seemed to be a lot angrier in appearance than before. Darker and larger, as if the caked blood wasn't enough of an indication, it was clear that Jinx had been in a bad state while writing this particular entry. Now Caitlyn just had to find out, _why?_

...

' _Entry 42_

 _...Mom._

 _...Dad._

 _They're...they're dead. I-I was just with them. And now they are just...gone._

 _I watched them die too. Saw them bleed to death right there on the ground._

 _Why?_

 _ **Why?!**_

 _Why did that monster come to our house?!_

 _He broke through the living room window and jumped in and we couldn't even do anything about it. He stabbed Mom with a knife before she could even start screaming-before we even knew what was happening. Dad tried to stop him, but the murderer cut his throat before he could do a thing. And then...they were both dead. Like that._

 _I...I can't get the sound Dad made out my head. But I don't know what was worst: that horrible sputtering noise he made or the look on his face._

 _I think he told me to run, but I couldn't do anything but watch him. And when he dropped to the ground and blood started to pour out his neck, the murderer looked at Mom and Dad and just laughed, like they were only a joke to him!_

 _He said something about debts and payment but I didn't hear fully. Once he turned to me with that evil look, I knew he would've killed me too if I didn't do something._

 _So I did like Dad said and I ran._

 _I ran as fast as I could. I ran upstairs and went down the hall into my room. Vi was asleep in the room next to mine and I had to protect her. So I ran into my room and shut the door to hide, hoping that he would check it first. Or at least pass by and let me sneak up on him._

 _After I closed it, I looked around for something to use against him. I didn't find anything I could use at first, but when I saw my lamp I grabbed it and waited for him to open my door._

 _He was quiet about it, but he ended up opening it after a couple of minutes. And when he did, I hit him in the head with it as hard as I could. It broke on him and he fell to the ground and groaned-but I didn't stop there._

 _I was too mad and scared to stop._

 _So I...I kicked him in the face. As hard as I could._

 _Over...and over again._

 _He tried to protect himself and tried to stop me, but I think he was in too much pain from the lamp and my first kick. And after a couple more hits, he stopped moving completely._

 _...I don't know what happened after that though. All I know is that when I got too tired to keep kicking, I was sitting in a red pool and his blood was all over my hands when I picked them off the ground. There was so much blood all over..._

 _I...I'm still sick over how much it was._

 _But the worst part is...I killed him…and I didn't feel bad about it._

 _I..._ _ **laughed**_ _when I looked at his body. Like how he laughed, and I couldn't stop. I don't know what was wrong with me. I just didn't feel anything about him. Even when I think about it now, I still laugh._ _ **Why?!**_

 _He's still lying there because I didn't know what to do with him. All I could do was look at his blood on my hands._

 _ **But why did I think it was funny**_ _?!_

 _...Mom always said writing helps her feel better when she got down. She told me that this diary would help me feel better too. But I don't feel better at all right now._

 _I don't think I feel anything._

 _I'm just scared.'_

...

Caitlyn grimaced as she paused to sort her thoughts. The entry was...extremely disturbing to her, to say the very least.

Of course...she _has_ had experience in gruesome murders and the like in the past. Because after all, she is the sheriff of Piltover and a detective; she _had_ to face such things. Witnessing all crimes-even the most grievous acts of murder or the most unfortunate of accidents-it practically was in the job description.

However, this...this was especially horrific, even to the standards she's known.

...and she found that ridiculous considering she hadn't even seen what had happened _firsthand_.

But somehow, it felt dramatically worse than all the horrible crimes that she has seen in person. Mostly because the event Jinx had described in the entry was an explicit assassination attempt where the assassin had clearly been instructed to leave no survivors. Children included.

And while there have been cases like this before, they were-thankfully- few are far between. Not many people have enough of an extreme vendetta against someone to hire a vicious assassin to kill their entire family, after all.

And personally, Caitlyn has never had to deal with- or even seen upfront-such cases in her career. Nor has she ever had to read about the aftereffects something like a failed assassination attempt could have on a survivor, let alone a child one.

She had to say, it was completely sickening.

...At the very least, she now has rather unfortunately gathered quite a glimpse into the tragic events that had shaped Jinx into-well, _Jinx_.

The girl was obviously devastated by the assassination of her parents. And Caitlyn couldn't help but feel that the girl's entire life must have been drastically altered, with the mental instability forming as a coping mechanism.

It explains a lot of the mystery surrounding Jinx, actually, and also explains why Vi doesn't remember much of anything revolving around their parents-even with the childhood amnesia she suffers from. But Caitlyn wondered who would have sent an assassin to kill Jinx's family.

It's a reasonable guess that one of the parents had angered someone of power-possibly by racking up debt and prompting the assassin to be sent to collect in blood. And if not that, one of them could have merely crossed someone they shouldn't have and paid a heavy price as a result. Caitlyn had no true way of knowing of course, but both sounded as probable of causes as any to her.

But truth be told, it didn't matter all that much how Jinx's parents died. As horrible as it had been, the event was in the past. What is important right now is that Caitlyn's getting deeper, closer and closer to discovering who Jinx truly is and the events that had shaped her.

But although she's made her long-awaited progress, Caitlyn began to linger on negatives.

Specifically, she couldn't help but ask herself, _do I really want to know more_?

Because if the last entry was only the first point on Jinx's-or rather, _Jessie's-_ descent into madness, Caitlyn wondered if she really wanted to know the rest. After all, it is alarmingly clear now that Jinx did not just one day snap and choose to destroy everything in the name of anarchy. Instead, Caitlyn is starting to realize that there had been a culmination of events in the transformation the innocent girl named Jessie had been forced through to become the insane terrorist hell-bent on causing mischief and destruction today.

So did she really want to know more?

 _..._

 _Yes. I'm hesitant to say, but I think I do._

Caitlyn found that as much as it was bothering her, she couldn't help but still desire the rest of the story. Despite her better judgment _completely_ telling her to get out while she still can, the rest of her mind was telling her that she already in the deep end-that she has gotten too far to stop now.

So she wanted, no she _needed_ to know the end of the story. It was too much in her nature to seek all of the pieces to a puzzle, even if Jinx is sure as hell the most complex and disturbing puzzle she has ever seen.

So after letting out a heavy sigh, Caitlyn shook her head.

By no means is she a professional psychologist or anything close to one. She has no clue how to help, or even where to start with Jinx's mind. But she'll be damned if she won't try to find a way, and so far, it seems the best place to start is by piecing together what had happened to Jinx after the murder of her parents.

So reopening the book Caitlyn continued onwards, hoping to learn more.

...

' _Entry 43_

 _I can't sleep anymore. It's too hard._

 _I see them every time I try. I see_ _ **him**_ _every time I sleep. I see him laughing at me. Laughing at Mom and Dad. I hate him._

 _I want to kill him again._

 _...What's_ _ **wrong**_ _with me? What kind of person wants_ _to kill someone, even if they deserve it? Mom wouldn't have wanted me thinking like this. She'd tell me that I need to be the bigger person._

 _I miss her so much. Dad too._

 _Vi missed them too. When she woke up, she asked me where they were, but I lied and said they went to Demacia for some top secret stuff and they would come back one day. I didn't want to lie to her, but I had to. She doesn't need to know that they're...dead. I don't want her to know._

 _She cried and asked me why they would leave, but I couldn't tell her._

 _I didn't know_ _ **what**_ _to tell her._

 _And I don't know what to do now either. Dad-he would know and Mom would make me feel better even though I don't have any answers. But they're gone. And even though I told Vi they would come back, they're never coming back._

 _ **Never**_ **.**

 _Even though I still see them every time I close my eyes._

 _...Dad always told me that when he and Mom died one day that I'd always be able to visit them. That I would be able to see them anytime I wanted. But is this what he really meant? Because it's funny how it sounded so nice back then, but now...now it just hurts._

 _...I need to start writing about something else. Like...Hat Girl._

 _I wonder what she is doing. I hope she is happy with it, whatever it is. And maybe she can be happy enough for the two of us, since I don't think I'll be happy on my own ever again.'_

...

Caitlyn turned the page, trying to ignore the weight on her heart.

...

' _Entry 44_

 _I found some other kids in the streets today. But these guys weren't like those jerks from before._

 _They were actually really nice and even asked me how my family is doing. And when I told them that my parents are...dead, they didn't tell me sorry or anything, but asked if me and Vi wanted to move in with them. And they said they'll help us out with food and water, and we could join their gang without having to worry about things._

 _I said yes instantly._

 _I'm still so glad that they let us come along because I don't think we can stay in our house anymore. We were running out of food and water pretty quickly and I didn't know how I would get them for us._

 _But now...maybe things will be okay. Maybe things will be better._

 _I still think about Mom and Dad every now and then, even though it's already been a week since they died. But I'm able to get rid of the nightmares now, and I can sleep again. And I think Dad was right. Even though they are gone, I feel happy when I think about them. Not so sad anymore._

 _And I don't feel so alone anymore. I have this gang of other kids now and I still have Vi. And when I think about Hat Girl, I can sleep without a single bad dream. She still makes me happy for some reason, even though I don't know why._

 _I just wish I could see her again. And I really wish we got to be friends right now. I could use a good friend like her.'_

As Caitlyn turned another page, she wondered why she had brought such joy to Jinx in her struggles. After all, they hadn't even known each other all that well at the time. But Jinx had still placed such an importance on Caitlyn, that she felt she must have left quite a mark on the other girl.

Thinking back to that note on the wall, Caitlyn could help but wonder if Jinx might have somehow became-dare she say- _smitten_ with her very early on; and with Jinx's young mind at the time, she only understood the feeling as a strong desire to have a friendship. Maybe that explained why the girl still has such a fixture onto Caitlyn nowadays as well.

But with a shake her head, Caitlyn let the thoughts pass.

 _Now's not the time,_ she told herself.

 _As much as I'm curious about the extent of Jinx's attraction towards me, I need to finish reading before spending countless hours thinking all of these...side thoughts_ , she told herself, returning to the book. But before she could rest her eyes on it, a strong urge from deep in her throat came over her. She attempted to stifle it, but failed and released a deep yawn, realizing that her body was telling her that it was starting to get tired.

She didn't think it was that late in the day, but she knew that a long day of researching had made time easily fly past her.

Fancying the thought of putting the diary away for the night, she took a quick scan of the next entry in the diary. And as she noted that it was another short one, barely a page long, she decided to suck it up and finish one more before heading to sleep.

...

' _Entry 45_

 _It's been two weeks now, and things are still getting better._

 _One of the kids in our gang has even been teaching me about technology and how to build some useful tools. I can't remember his name, but the things he has been showing me are so cool. They even remind me of some of the inventions my Dad would show me in magazines and stuff._

 _When I first got here, I thought it was weird at first. I mean, they live in a giant warehouse of all places!_

 _But every day, I'm starting to like it here more and more. Even Vi loves it. We have our own room and got to bring a lot of stuff from our house to it. So even though it's not really the same, it still feels like home. Our old home in Piltover._

 _Though, I think it makes Vi miss Mom and Dad a bit more. I can't blame her, it makes me miss them more too._

 _But I have to move on for her. We have to move on together. The guys in the gang told me that moving on is the best way to escape sadness._

 _And they're all so smart, so I'm gonna try and listen to them._

 _\- Jessie._

 _(I forgot to put that in the last few entries. Whoops.)_

Caitlyn smiled as she finished reading the little closing note. That last entry-it was a nice and well-needed change of pace from the previous ones. And she was glad about it for other reasons too.

She was glad that Jinx had found people to help care for her and Vi. And more so, she was glad that Jinx had been able to move on from the devastation her parents' deaths had caused her, even if barely.

But as another yawn took over her, Caitlyn was forced to put both the book and her thoughts away for later. She was much too tired now. So moving the book aside, under the covers with her, she got comfortable and relaxed on her pillow, closing her eyes.

She wasn't usually much of a dreamer, and sleep to her was more a biological need than an escape from reality. But oddly enough, she found herself deep in a fantasy as she drifted off. It was more a memory than a dream, really, but it brought her a smile all the same.

It was the day she and Jinx had spent in the park, and she got to relive the happiness of the day all over again. But when her younger self asked Jinx to be friends, she received a 'sure', instead of the no that she had actually been given.

And as the smile on Caitlyn's resting face grew, she was happy.

* * *

 **Happy New Year's everyone!**

 **I hope everyone has enjoyed the holidays and entered the new year already working towards their new goals. I don't have too much to say besides that, but as always, thank you all for reading this chapter and the rest of the story. And here's to another year of Broken Gears and all of its readers!**


	12. Chapter 12: Into Madness

Caitlyn started her morning with diary in hand, getting comfortable on the living room couch under the early morning's light. She needed to find out what happened in the rest of Jinx's entries as soon as possible before the other girl returned from the Institute. She had a long day ahead of her, to say the least, but she didn't know how many entries were left in the diary and didn't want to spare a single moment.

After all, she can't risk not finishing it up until tomorrow, because she definitely doesn't want Jinx to catch her in the act. Not only would that be _very bad_ for Caitlyn, but Jinx would more than likely keep her from learning more (provided she doesn't just outright kill Caitlyn for intruding on her most private secrets.)

And Caitlyn couldn't go on not knowing what happened next. Not after getting this far.

So, opening up the diary, she flipped to the page where she last stopped, and began reading to hopefully finish up before the day concluded.

...

' _Entry 46_

 _Keep moving on. That's what I've been telling myself since that day. It's what the gang tells me every day. And it does work most of the time. But still, sometimes, it gets really hard._

 _I don't get as many nightmares since the gang took me and Vi in, but when I do, they still hurt just as much as they used to. Like the one I had last night, where I didn't save Vi and the murderer killed her too-right in front of me like he did with Mom and Dad. And then he killed me too. And he laughed as he did it. Laughed and laughed until I woke up._

 _I didn't get to sleep much last night._

 _...But I'm gonna try to not think about it right now. And I'm hoping that I won't have any nightmares tonight, too. I don't think I will, though, because even with how last night ended up, I had a pretty good day today._

 _Everyone in the gang helps each other out by getting things on missions and supply runs. But since I suck at stealing food and stuff from the street vendors without getting caught, I usually just help out on the missions to get spare parts and other materials for inventions, from the junkyards all over the place. Apparently, everyone in the gang likes inventing and building things, (probably even more than people in Piltover do!) so they always need the cogs and gears that Zaun engineers and scientists toss away._

 _Anyways, on the mission I had today, I found some really good scraps that one of the members completely loved. He sounded so excited to use them in some kind of invention that he's been working on, and it made me pretty happy that I was able to help. The gang has done so much for me and my sister and I don't know how we would have survived if they didn't take us in. So I really want to do as much as I can to help them out._

 _-Jessie'_

...

As nice as it was that the entry was a fairly tame one-especially compared to the ones she read last night-Caitlyn frowned at the lack of significance in it. But learning from yesterday's experience, she knew complaining about it would get her nowhere, and just like yesterday, she knew that she only has to continue reading until she finds something more important. And surely, if Jinx has documented this much of her life, it is almost a guarantee that there is more to the diary than just simple snippets remaining.

...

' _Entry 47_

 _I got a code number!_

 _Everyone in the gang calls each other by those old Targonian numbers or by code names so that if anyone gets caught stealing or something, they won't have to give away any real names (it's kinda a funny system, but I think it's pretty cool too.) And since I'm starting to do a lot more missions and stuff, I got a code number today, the Targon number X._

 _It's a pretty cool number, too! Makes me sound like a cool hexavision star or something. But I don't think people will start calling me by it much. Jinx, the codename I was given before I got my number is what people usually call me, and at this point, I think people are_ _ **too**_ _used to calling me that. Not that I have much of a problem with it._

 _Being called by Jinx always reminds me of the funny story of how I got it as a codename. Well, funny to me at least. I don't think anyone else laughs about it. Well, except for this one guy, Bucky. He laughs at everything! Even when his hair caught on fire this one time!_

 _But anyways, I started getting called Jinx because I had messed up badly on a couple of my first few missions and caused some problems for the people that were with me too. Let's just say that Zaun rats_ _ **do not**_ _like being accidentally stepped on. At all._

 _I swear one of those rats started walking on two legs!_

 _Ugh, I'm still scared to go back to the sewers because of that._

 _But I'm guessing the gang gave me the 'Jinx' nickname to tease me for my mess ups back then since they were pretty bad. Jokes on them, though, because I like Jinx. It rolls off the tongue, like Dad used to always say.'_

 _..._

As Caitlyn finished the entry, she let a small smile grace her face as she noticed that the usual signature line where Jinx would right " _-Jessie"_ , was crossed out with " _-Jinx"_ instead, signifying the girl's acceptance of the name.

 _...So that's how Jinx got her infamous nickname_ , she mused.

It was mildly interesting to her, in a way. But of course it was nothing major at all, so with a shake of her head, Caitlyn pushed the thought aside before returning to the diary.

But flipping through, she found that the entries were becoming more mundane again, as they simply described Jinx's everyday adventures over the time she spent in Zaun. Nothing of importance was appearing at all. So to save time, Caitlyn began skipping through the book, hoping to progress enough to finish it before the day was over, while still scanning intently for something significant.

After she passed several pages of entries, however, she began to run on autopilot as her mind wandered. And as minutes passed and idle thoughts spawned, she became aware of how much time Jinx and Vi had actually spent in Zaun. It had to have spanned a little over a year, and only kept continuing with every entry.

And as she continued skipping through, it led Caitlyn to wonder if her guesses about the time frame of the diary were even correct. It just seemed like _too_ much time passed. She supposed it helped explain how Vi had lost all the memories of her childhood, at the very least.

Beyond the death of her parents, which Jinx had sheltered her from, it didn't seem Vi had experienced _anything_ worth keeping as a memory. It was all just...so mundane in Caitlyn's eyes as she skipped through.

But as she finally came across an entry that seemed somewhat important, a few minutes later, she couldn't help but smile in relief. Stopping her wandering mind, she focused on the page, hoping it was just as promising as she hoped.

 _..._

' _Entry 71_

 _Looks like the gang needs more junk...again._

 _And this is like the fifth time this week, too. But one of the leader's is trying to improve the warehouse to let in more power and stuff, so he needs a ton of materials for it. He tried to explain more, but it was sooo boring and I only got the gist of things._

 _Most of what he said was something about us not being able to develop new stuff because our generator sucks. And that he couldn't shower in peace when the hot water got cut off._

 _Blah blah blah._

 _I still offered to go for him though, since he said he would show me his blueprints for some inventions if I did, and I_ _ **really**_ _want to know how he designed some of the things around here._

 _Like there's this one robot he designed that cleans up the warehouse so that none of us have to do much. It's literally the best thing ever! And he also made this really cool stun grenade that expands after it gets thrown and does this cool spinning move, too._

 _Ugh, I need to know how to make them. Even though I've already went hunting through the junkyards_ _ **twice**_ _today already._

 _But I guess there's no harm in going a third time, though. Because I want a cleaning robot for my room._

 _Hmm, I guess this time I'll take Vi with me too. She's been wanting to come with me on a mission for a long time, and I think she's old enough now._

 _Yeah, it shouldn't be too bad if I take her. And maybe if she does good, I'll bring her along more often. That would be fun._

 _-Jinx'_

...

As Caitlyn finished, she let out a sigh, realizing that the entry wasn't as promising as she had hoped, only proving to be another in a long string of unimportant ones. So she flipped the page, hoping to get a little more insight out of the next entry. Or the next one. However many it took for her to figure out what terrible circumstance had happened next. To figure out what event had led to Jinx going mad and taking to a life of crime.

...But as she looked at the entry-or rather, the _lack_ of an entry-she was taken by surprise.

Because the page was blank.

There was nothing at all, not even a single line. After staring blankly at it for a moment, Caitlyn reasoned that Jinx had probably just accidentally skipped over it. So deciding to ignore the peculiar page, she then continued onwards.

However, the next entry was _also_ blank.

And frowning in confusion now, Caitlyn flipped through some more, hoping to find _something_ , even it was just another mundane entry again _._ But nothing revealed itself at all. Each page was completely empty. Blank, blank, and more blank, all the way to the end of the diary.

 _...Was that the last entry?_

Caitlyn didn't want to believe it of course. But she couldn't help but think that it was.

But at the same time, it just _couldn't_ have been. There had to be more history, more story to Jinx's past. Most importantly, there had to be an _explanation_.

Something obvious had to have tragically gone wrong at some point in her life in Zaun for Jinx to have been warped into the dangerous psychopath Piltover has come to fear. Especially considering how innocent she seemed as a child, _even_ _after_ the murder of her parents. There had have been some reason behind it all.

But nowhere in the diary could she find _anything_. Jinx had just...stopped writing completely, which didn't make sense in itself. The girl seemed to write about _everything_ that had happened to or around her. She hadn't even let the deaths of her parents stop her from writing, admitting that she found solace in it as well. So Caitlyn highly doubted Jinx had stopped on her own accord.

And that meant something else had prevented her from continuing.

Furrowing her brows, Caitlyn returned to the diary's last passage, hoping to gain some understanding as to what that something was. Of course, nothing came to her really, and all rereading the passage served to do was confuse and irritate her further.

But at least one thing was obvious to Caitlyn as she reached the end of the small entry again.

Something had to have gone wrong on that last scavenging mission that Jinx undertook.

 _Very wrong_.

After all, there was no other explanation as to why Jinx would have just stopped writing. At least as far as Caitlyn could reason, that is.

Letting out a sigh, Caitlyn closed the diary as tried to think about her next plan of action. The book no longer had any use to her now that she finished the rest of the entries. But that left her wondering, _what now_?

But nothing came to mind in response to that question, however, drawing out another sigh out of the Sheriff.

The only other thing she could possibly do to find some answers is scour the prohibited room again, in hopes of finding something else of note in there or being able to make more sense of something she had seen previously.

It felt like it would be nothing more than an effort in vain, but what else could she do, really? Ask Jinx when she returned? Caitlyn laughed at the thought. No, Jinx would sooner blow Caitlyn up with her beloved rocket launcher than talk about her past.

Caitlyn just has to find out the rest on her own. So setting the book down on the coffee table beside her, she got up off the couch and returned to her search in that room once more.

* * *

...Just as expected, she found nothing.

Nothing had changed about the room since the last time she checked it, of course, which meant there was nothing she could do to make it reveal new secrets to her. She had to have searched every nook and cranny in the room but there was nothing more to it than that she has already seen.

Sitting down and letting out an exasperated huff, she found herself at wit's end. There was no new revelation. No new leads. _Nothing new at all_ that would enable her to learn more Jinx.

And as she closed her eyes, she couldn't help but fall into heavy thought.

 _What do I do next?_

It was the same question as before, but still she had no answers to it.

 _What can I_ _ **possibly**_ _do next? I can't find anything in here at all._

 _...Not to say there is anything coherent in here to find in the first place really. But still._

 _The only option now would be to ask Jinx herself what had happened. But there's not a doubt in my mind that she would willingly tell me. Not to add the fact that she would be more than angry over the fact that I ignored practically the only rule she gave by snooping in this room. And as I rather like being alive and not in unrecognizable flecks of dust from being exploded-telling or asking her anything is out of the question._

 _But actually, as I say that...I can't say for certain_ _ **what**_ _Jinx would do to me if I came clean. Maybe...she wouldn't outright kill me._

 _After all, from what I've gathered from the diary about Jinx's true personality...I'm led to believe that she wouldn't do it. She wouldn't kill me. Maybe I can be as bold to say that_ _ **can't**_ _kill me, even._

 _She isn't a murderer by nature._

 _...Or at least, not by conscious nature. After all, it had horrified her to even contemplate wanting to kill her parents' murderer again, which makes me doubt that she'd simply make an attempt on my life. And she has had ample opportunities in the past to get rid of me as well. Not once has she done anything even remotely threatening. So I think that it's safe to say I'll be fine._

 _...Maybe._

Caitlyn groaned as she closed her eyes and rubbed her brow. When it really came down to it, _did_ she really know Jinx well enough to think that? Truth be told, she could sit here and assume things about the other girl as much as she wanted. But the Jinx she knows is nothing but unpredictable. Where Caitlyn had expected horrible torture and hell on Earth when she learned Jinx had captured her, Jinx had instead been doing practically everything in her power to make Caitlyn feel as comfortable as possible.

She bought Caitlyn books and clothing, gave her virtually free roam around the complex after she could walk again, and hell, Jinx even returned the Sheriff's hat and rifle back. And for the life of her, Caitlyn could not understand _why_.

It didn't make sense as to why Jinx would be so kind when it wasn't too long ago that they were exchanging bullets towards each other.

Well...it didn't make sense _at first_. But then, as Caitlyn looked back to the wall of photos and captions, the reasoning started becoming clear to her.

Jinx wanted to start over.

That much was clear. Something in the girl had changed of recent, and it made her seek a different direction in her life. She was being a bit more...honest, if you will.

For instance, the girl was earning money only by working at the institute now, no longer supplementing her income with the money robbed from banks. And she bought back items and goods with her earned money as well, rather stealing them from shops. Caitlyn was almost certain that Jinx hasn't even vandalized or caused any major anarchy of late either (although, the girl did admit to doing some small graffiti on a couple of police cars, much to Caitlyn's annoyance). All in all, Jinx has been successfully working towards a clean slate from what Caitlyn has seen over the weeks.

And though the girl could have easily been lying to Caitlyn all this time-as trapped as the Sheriff is, the other girl could be committing and hiding crimes, leaving Caitlyn none the wiser-Caitlyn truly believed that Jinx was being completely honest with her.

The girl that has been her caretaker the past month or so just wasn't the same as the rampaging loose cannon that Piltover has always known.

And maybe it was merely a misguided belief, but Caitlyn believed that Jinx's changed nature was a something akin to a call for aid. After all, the girl had outright stated on the photo wall that she wanted Caitlyn's help in her transition, just as the Sheriff had done in the past for Vi. _Even if_ the girl hadn't come directly to Caitlyn with the request and denied Caitlyn access to the room's contents.

Which, speaking of, was rather peculiar to Caitlyn. Jinx wanted Caitlyn's help, but obviously didn't want Caitlyn to learn the things she needed from the room to in order to help. It didn't make much sense to her, but perhaps, she thought, it was a ploy all along and Jinx-knowing how Caitlyn's curiosity would get the better of her-had intentionally teased the room more by making it prohibited. For all Caitlyn knew, Jinx could have planned for Caitlyn to end up breaking her rule and enter the room the entire time.

It would definitely be a Jinx like thing to do, but Caitlyn couldn't be sure if the girl had truly planned that far along. It was all just so...confusing. But before she could linger on the thoughts any longer, a heavy sound was heard outside the room, instantly interrupting her out of her musing. And as she froze in shock, Caitlyn knew _precisely_ what the sound was.

It was the heavy entrance door being closed.

Jinx was back. _A day early_.

With her heart rapidly shifting into overdrive, Caitlyn frantically searched for somewhere to hide in the room, knowing that she likely had mere minutes before Jinx stumbled upon her. But unfortunately, the only space that seemed suitable was under the desk that she found the diary in, and it was much too obvious a space. She would be found instantly if Jinx decided to check the room.

She was stuck in plain sight with nowhere to go.

And as she heard footsteps outside, her panic level only escalated. So letting out a curse, she dove under the desk anyways, hoping and practically praying that Jinx wouldn't find her. And while the other girl, who was faintly calling out to her, sounded oblivious to her location at least, Caitlyn was sure that wouldn't be the case for too long.

Or...would it?

As footsteps sounded closer, a new thought began to spawn in Caitlyn's mind. If Jinx simply went directly to Caitlyn's room, opposite of Caitlyn now, she could make an attempt to sneak out while the other girl inspected the other room. And if she is successful, she could pretend to have been in another room the entire time, leaving Jinx none the wiser. It wasn't a foolproof plan, but it was a plan nevertheless. It certainly beat waiting for Jinx to catch her red-handed, in the one room she explicitly prohibited.

But now here's hoping Caitlyn can pull it off.

"Hat Lady! ...Where are you?" Caitlyn listened as Jinx called out again, drawing out the words.

"Oh, wait! Are we playing hide-and-seek?! I love hide-and-seek!" Jinx continued, letting out a giddy squeal. "Or are you trying to give me a surprise party? You are, aren't you? Ooh. I love those even more!"

The footsteps were almost deafening in Caitlyn's ears and her heart was pounding in her chest. But deciding to get out from her pathetic hiding spot, she crept over to the door, and tensed a hand on the doorknob, ready to open it.

"I hope you baked me a cake for the party. One with lots of frosting and sprinkles, and oh! I hope you got me gifts too. Lots and lots of gifts!"

A pause in footsteps caused Caitlyn's breath to still, her heart racing even faster.

"Hey, wait a minute. It's not even my birthday!" Caitlyn froze at the words as dread crept down her spine. It was over for her-Jinx was catching on.

"...But you're still throwing me a surprise welcome back home party, aren't you!"

 _...Nevermind_ , Caitlyn couldn't be more happy to state mentally.

As Jinx resumed movement outside and returned to her gleeful ignorance, Caitlyn was able to let loose the breath she was holding and return to a more normal breathing pattern while clutching at her heart in relief. It was ridiculous, but she couldn't help but feel like a character in one of those horror movies Vi always took her to go see. She had never understood their plight before, and even scoffed at them for being so useless in times of danger. But now, as she quietly waited in suspense for Jinx to move on, she could now clearly sympathize with those terrified and helpless characters.

But Caitlyn assumed that Jinx was deep in the hallway now, quickly approaching what Caitlyn believed was her room. She didn't have time to linger on her fright.

And so, noting that it was her chance, Caitlyn quickly, but as quietly as she could possibly be, propped open the door, ready to sneak out as soon as Jinx entered the other room. All she had to do was wait now, stopping her breath once more as she gripped the door handle and peered out to see Jinx reach for the handle to her room.

And in the exact moment that she saw Jinx open the door, Caitlyn burst into action with more grace than a thief in the night, closing the door behind her and dashing forward in one fell swoop.

"I'm home! Did ya miss me?!" Jinx exclaimed animatedly into the empty room, not even noticing the Sheriff that she was looking for sprinting behind her.

And by the time Jinx realized that Caitlyn was not in her room, Caitlyn was long gone down the hall and into the living room. There, she made a quick decision and went straight into the other girl's room to hide to be able to pretend that she had been there the whole time. And once settled down on the rug beside Jinx's bed, she was able to calm down.

She had done it.

And Jinx, who was still in her room, confused about where the sheriff was, had no clue.

Caitlyn almost chuckled aloud to herself even, as she listened to the other girl's rambles a moment later.

"Where could she be? I know she didn't escape. She couldn't have. But she didn't go into... _that_ room, did she..." came the faint questions.

Caitlyn's breath hitched, instantly replacing her humor with concern. After all, she couldn't help but wonder if Jinx realized what she had done anyways. Even without actually catching her in the room.

But as Jinx let out a "Nah," Caitlyn felt relieved again. She could almost picture how the other girl was shaking her head and blowing off the thought.

"Hmm. Maybe she just went down to the workshop. Yeah, she probably has been waiting for me there the whole time. Ooh, maybe she made me a new gun too! I'd love a sniper rifle like hers!" Jinx became more and more animated with the thought of getting a new gun and droned on about it. Caitlyn lost focus on it all, and tuned the girl out, deciding to focus on what to say when Jinx _does_ eventually find her.

But if she had only paid attention to Jinx for a bit longer, she would've heard Jinx's rambling suddenly stop. And she would've questioned it, recognizing the danger that was coming.

Because Jinx had gotten _deadly_ quiet...

* * *

Caitlyn held her breath as she heard Jinx's footsteps resound throughout the hall. Any second now, she was guaranteed to walk into the room with that childish glee in her expression and then Caitlyn would hop out of her hiding place, pretending to surprise her...

Hearing the footsteps sound closer, she tensed, readying herself. And as the light flickered on, she sprung out from under the desk, closed-eyed and grinning, with arms outstretched and hat held upside down with its rim in hand.

" _Surprise!_ " she let out as loud as she could muster before adding,"Welcome back, Jinx!"

And she was the perfect picture of cheer. Radiating enough joyful exuberance that the other girl-who was notorious for always maintaining a gleeful, if sadistic, appearance-was sure to respect. All in all, Caitlyn was a hundred percent certain that Jinx was thoroughly surprised by her act and was about to explode in joy herself.

...But as the minute past, no sound came from the other girl.

Confused, Caitlyn gave a peek with a blue eye. She really expected to find Jinx speechless, ready to burst out into a fit of laughter and smiles. But what she found instead was the complete opposite.

Where the amused, or even confused smile had been expected, Caitlyn quickly registered that the expression on Jinx's face much more resembled pure unadulterated _fury_.

And faltering, she placed her hat back onto her hand and lowered her hands. Dimly noting that Jinx was most certainly not surprised or happy in the slightest, she wondered as to why the girl was so irate. And more specifically, why she seemingly was so irate _with Caitlyn_ herself. After all, Caitlyn was completely sure that she had escaped scot-free. But despite her certainty, Jinx was purely oozing rage and the glare she was giving with her pink eyes spoke nothing but murder.

It goes without saying that it disturbed the Sheriff, and made Caitlyn tremble as nervous fright took control of her. And so, in a fairly desperate attempt to identify what she had did to wrong the criminal, as well as possibly disarm her dwindling fuse, she muttered out a simple, "Uh, Jinx?".

But the girl was silent in response, however, giving little notion that she actually heard Caitlyn. But actions always speak louder than words, and as Jinx's only reply in the form of her pulling a _very incriminating_ book from her side, she was screaming volumes.

Instantly, Caitlyn's internal panic meter shot through the roof and she involuntarily backed up in fear of the criminal as she stared at the book. In her haste to hide from Jinx, she had unwittingly forgotten the girl's diary, which she had left on the living room table. And now as Jinx raised it up, she felt chills run down her spine.

Now, Caitlyn wasn't normally one to let out heavy curses. She found them unfitting and unbecoming of her status as both the Sheriff of Piltover and a noble in one of the highest echelons of the city. But no manner of elegance or upbringing could have prevented the simple word from slipping out of her mouth at this point.

"...Shit."

"Yeah. " _Shit_ " is right." Jinx finally uttered, responding with scorn to Caitlyn's slip of the tongue. "What the fuck is this?"

A million thoughts ran through the Sheriff's mind as she attempted to create an explanation. But as she rationalized that none of them would see her through this situation, she could only let out, "...Uh, it's...a book?" in a vain effort to play dumb.

But after Jinx's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits, it quickly became clear to Caitlyn that she had chosen the wrong course of action.

"...Are you serious? Are you _seriously_ trying to play dumb right now?" Jinx questioned slowly. Caitlyn gulped before opening her mouth to reply, but Jinx cut her off.

"If you think I'm going to let you sit here and play games, you have another thing coming! I promise that I will _end_ _you_ if you keep it up. Now, answer my damn question. _What_. _Is. This?_ "

To make sure her intent was clearly known, Jinx took off the shock pistol that she always brought along with her from her waist with her left hand, still holding the book up with the right. She then readied the gun to a lethal level and lined it up with Caitlyn's heart.

And it was clear to both that Jinx was aiming to kill.

Caitlyn froze in fear at the sight of it, of course, letting an audible swallow go down her throat. Knowing that Jinx was more than capable of fulfilling her threat at this point, she chose her next words carefully. More careful than she has ever been in her life.

"...It is your diary. But I'm sure you already know that much."

"Righty-o, _genius_ ," Jinx returned, sarcasm dripping in her voice. "Now tell me, _where_ did you find it exactly?"

"I-in that one room," Caitlyn cursed herself for stuttering, but she couldn't help it. Jinx was absolutely terrifying. Even if Jinx wasn't outright yelling at her yet, the harsh, absolutely livid tone shoved daggers into Caitlyn with every word. And it almost made Caitlyn _wish_ that Jinx was yelling instead.

" _What_ room?" The other girl pressed, moving the gun closer.

Caitlyn closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She realized she had to come to terms with it all, and so with little hesitation, she came clean.

"...The room you told me to stay out of."

And there they were. The incriminating words Caitlyn was certain Jinx had been waiting to hear. And sure enough, the other girl lost it.

"And why the _fuck_ were you in that room, that we _both_ know I CLEARLY TOLD YOU TO STAY OUT OF?" Jinx finally exploded, sending a wince through Caitlyn.

"I...I'll admit...I was curious at first. Too curious. Your warnings had only served to raise my interest in the room, and I couldn't stop myself. I _had_ to sate it," Caitlyn stammered out in a poor explanation.

"But then, after I saw what was actually inside there-I just wanted to learn more. And so when I saw your diary...I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but read it. And listen Jinx, I know I shouldn't have breached your privacy and all, but I want to help you-"

She didn't get the chance to finish her sentence, as the other girl instantly threw down her pistol and diary before slamming into her. And before she even knew what had happened, Caitlyn found herself pinned to the nearest wall, only suspended by her throat in Jinx's hands.

"Help me... **Help me?!** Are you trying to be funny? Is that supposed to be a fucking _joke_...BECAUSE I'M NOT LAUGHING."

If it had been another time and mood, Caitlyn might have found it interesting that Jinx possessed so much physical strength, enough to lift up the taller Caitlyn with ease. It was fairly remarkable how deceptive it was, considering Jinx's tiny frame. Even if Jinx did wield an arsenal of weapons, including a heavy minigun and a rocket launcher.

However, as Caitlyn was forced to gasp for breaths under the girl's iron grip, as well as barely attempt to stabilize herself on the wall she was being suspended against, well…it was rather hard to muse on Jinx's strength for long.

"J-Jinx, I-"

"No, don't you dare say shit to me. Don't you _dare_. Do you _honestly_ think you can "help me" when you don't even know half the fucked up shit I went through? You don't know all the pain that I suffered through. All the lonely years that broke me...or _all the time_ that I spent with _no one_ -NO ONE! Not a single person there to comfort me through the hell I experienced, or to hold my fucking hand and say 'It's all going to be okay'. And I certainly had no one there to ' _help me_ '. So do me a favor and _shut the hell up_. And don't sit here and talk as if you'll be the first to be here for me...especially when no one else has been for all of my twenty-two fucking years."

The more Jinx spoke, the more her tone calmed, much to Caitlyn's gratitude. But as the venom and fury left her, bitterness filled in and her expression morphed into a somber gaze. It left the girl looking deflated and empty and as she lost the will to sustain her rage-filled state completely, she let her grip loosen around Caitlyn's throat. And the Sheriff was able to breathe once again, if barely. But despite her sore neck's protests, Caitlyn spoke again.

"You...You're right," Caitlyn wheezed out, still recovering her breath. "I _don't_ know enough about you. About what you went through, what you had to do to survive, or anything really. And I know that I don't particularly have the right to say I'll help you either. Especially after being so adamant about putting you behind bars not too long ago."

Caitlyn paused as she thought back to how she and Jinx were the Sheriff and the city's Most Wanted not too long ago. When they had been spraying bullets at each other and opposing each other everywhere they went.

But then...she also remembered a time long before that. Before they were bitter enemies. Before Caitlyn became Sheriff and Jinx lost her mind. All the way back to the swing set in that park that fateful day, where their paths had first diverged. And as she remembered how she had asked Jinx to be friends then, Caitlyn's mind was made up now.

"But _...I don't care._ I'm going to help you, whether you like it or not. I...I believe that you can return to who you once were and you _deserve_ to have a chance at life like anyone else. So I will learn about what happened and about all the horrors that you experienced and the changes you went through. Whatever it takes in order to figure out what I need to do in order to remedy it all. In order to grant you a second chance at life, Jessie."

Caitlyn was adamant in her words, speaking with meaningful intent behind every word. She wasn't entirely sure where her newfound conviction in Jinx came from, but she felt it was true in every fiber of her being.

But despite Caitlyn's words, Jinx averted her eyes, as if she couldn't bear looking at her. And when she spoke to Caitlyn again, it was not the insane, lively criminal that Caitlyn had once always known her to be. Nor was it the rage-filled girl that she had just seen mere minutes ago. No, this version of Jinx was completely different.

The girl in front of Caitlyn now was only an empty husk, practically devoid of life completely. And when she spoke...Caitlyn's heart nearly broke.

"Don't...don't call me that. Jessie-she died a long time ago. She died when she had realized that everyone she loved was gone and no one was coming to save her. And then they buried her deep down in those damn Zaun labs, surrounded by the blood of other kids that they forced her to kill and all those _horrible_ chemicals that those bastard scientists forced into us," Jinx murmured listlessly. She released Caitlyn, letting the Sheriff softly fall to her knees, before turning away.

"You can hold onto your delusional hope of saving or helping her all you want. But you can't save something that is long gone…"

Caitlyn didn't know what to say to that. She just...didn't. But as she watched Jinx start to move away, she knew that she had to say something, _anything._

So she called out the girl's name, in hopes of stopping her.

"...Jinx, _wait_."

And Jinx paused in her walk for a split second, just long enough to reveal that she had, in fact, heard the call. But as she continued on, it was clear to Caitlyn that it wasn't enough.

So resolving herself, Caitlyn struggled off her knees and pulled herself up. Something in her refused to let Jinx live in such a state, so she moved to grab her. If the other girl got mad again, so be it. Caitlyn was...willing to suffer Jinx's wrath, as much as it scared her. She just couldn't- _wouldn't_ let Jinx simply leave like this.

Covering the distance between them in seconds, Caitlyn latched her hand on Jinx's arm, hoping to force her back. But Jinx wavered under her grip before violently shaking her off. And quicker than Caitlyn could react, Jinx turned on her, swinging a fist at her face. Only able to flinch in response, Caitlyn shut her eyes and braced herself for the strike.

But it never came, even seconds later.

Cautiously, Caitlyn slowly reopened her eyes. To be honest, she hadn't been entirely certain of what she was going to find before looking at Jinx. But when she saw the girl with her head faced down and her closed first trembling in the air in front of her, Caitlyn couldn't help but be shocked. Especially when she started seeing tears stream down Jinx's cheeks.

"What, Caitlyn?! What do you want from me?! _Just leave me alone_?!" Jinx half shouted-half sobbed out.

And as if the words took everything out of the girl, she collapsed, falling to her knees and palms in fatigue, obviously encumbered by the mental and emotional tolls barreling down on her by the infernal memories from her past.

Caitlyn knew she should've done something at that point, but as Jinx bawled on the floor, she could only stand there and watch.

It was painfully uncomfortable for her to see the girl in such a state because she couldn't fathom seeing Jinx in such a broken state. But as the bluenette's wails grew in intensity and anguish, she snapped out of her trance and realized that she needed to comfort the girl.

So she brought herself down to the floor and sat next to the other who was barely holding herself up with both hands. And then, in a situation she had never before believed she could find herself in, she gingerly pulled the bluenette into a tender hug.

Holding her close, Caitlyn brought her into her arms, caressing her gently. She stayed silent for a good moment, allowing Jinx to relieve her mind through her sobs. But after the girl started hiccuping in an involuntary attempt to regain her breath, Caitlyn decided to speak up.

"...I'm sorry, Jinx, but I can't do that," she started, responding to Jinx's earlier command. "I won't leave you alone. And not just now. No, I won't let you be alone, _ever again_. That, I promise you. And it's...it's going to be alright. I assure you, it will. I don't quite know when it will or how it will, but one day, _it will._ And each and every day until that day, and then each and every day beyond it, I am going to help you. You will _never_ be alone again," Caitlyn whispered sincerely into the sobbing girl's ear.

However, she wasn't sure if her words were truly heard because Jinx still continued to cry. A lot less severely, mind you-which Caitlyn _was_ grateful of-, but the Sheriff couldn't tell whether it was in result of her gentle whispers or simply from the girl's exhaustion. But either way, she was still relieved once Jinx's cries dulled into a tired lull.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Caitlyn was unaware of how much time had passed. But as she glanced at the blue haired girl, she found that Jinx had cried herself to sleep.

Chuckling an exhausted laugh, Caitlyn drug herself up and picked Jinx up off the bedroom floor as well. She found that the other girl was surprisingly heavy, or more likely, that she was surprisingly weak, but lifted her into the bed all the same.

She had wanted to change Jinx into more appropriate sleeping wear than the typical assortment of belts and shorts that she wore outside, but she felt it would be much too awkward and uncomfortable, so she advised herself against it and simply laid Jinx onto the bed as she was.

Once the other girl was out of her hands, Caitlyn realized that she too was starting to feel fairly exhausted. It had been a long day, despite the hours. Much longer and mentally tolling than she would have ever wanted, really. So as such, she decided that she would head for some rest in her own quarters, and figure things out the next morning.

But before she left, she tucked Jinx in, knowing it would get colder in the night. And once satisfied, Caitlyn started to move off, letting out a small yawn as she did. But before she could get too far from the bed, a weak hand reached out, getting a grab of her clothes.

And turning around, she found half-lidded pink eyes gazing at her.

"...W-wait. Please...please stay with me. I don't want... _nightmares_. Not again," a semi-conscious Jinx pleaded in a listless murmur.

Caitlyn weighed the request in her mind, but it barely lingered on her mind before fatigue and sympathy won out and made her decision for her.

And besides, she just made an oath to always be there for Jinx. She wouldn't want to break it already, would she?

 _No, of course not_.

Letting out a small chuckle, she crawled in next to Jinx, who immediately latched onto her. It was a bit of a surprise to Caitlyn, but she didn't make a move to stop the embrace either.

In fact...she found it quite comfortable. And with another yawn, she found herself drifting off into her dreams quite easily.

But before she dove completely into slumber, a single thought arose in her mind.

 _How am I to help her...?_

* * *

Vi was furious.

No, strike that. She was absolutely _livid_.

All day long, non-stop, she has had absolute _idiots_ coming to her. First, it was her idiotic bosses who kept coming to her with more and more paperwork to assign. But as much as she hated the stupid paperwork, it was really their nagging over who was to take command in Caitlyn's absence that ticked her off.

They never liked Vi (the feeling was mutual), but even to them, it was obvious that she was possibly the most qualified for the job; seeing as she was the last sheriff's second in command and knew how to keep the other officers in order for the most part. So they kept bugging her, wanting her to step up and become sheriff.

But she would be _damned_ if she let them force her into Caitlyn's position.

...And if they weren't enough, she also had the random everyday idiots who came to her with their false sympathy and condolences, wanting her to know _oh how much_ Caitlyn meant to them and the city as a whole. Vi had to scoff at them. As if they actually cared about Caitlyn. No, they only cared about the work she did as sheriff.

Between them and the occasional reporters who kept bugging her for news, she found herself going outside _much less_ since Caitlyn's kidnapping. Which sucked, because she was seriously starting to lose her tone from skipping the gym.

But even though she could avoid the reporters and citizens, and only had to see her bosses every now and then, it was the idiotic rookies that she had to see _every day_ in the office that really struck her nerves.

The rookies have been acting like headless chickens without Caitlyn there to instruct or command them. And try as she may, Vi was never able to get them to listen to rhyme or reason. She had always been the 'fun one' when Caitlyn was around, always the one to bust them out of trouble with the big bad Sheriff when they screwed up and always the one to go drinking with them on a good night. And although it was fun at the time, he reputation was now proving to be a source of regret as Vi couldn't get them to seriously respect her.

And the worst part was that they wouldn't believe her when she told them that Caitlyn wasn't dead.

Yeah, that pissed her off the most.

She refused to believe Caitlyn to be dead. Jinx was many things and _did_ many things. But one thing Vi was certain of, was that Jinx wouldn't kill her or Caitlyn. Even if they didn't have the Institute's protection, Jinx wouldn't simply kill them. She enjoyed tormenting them too much to ever finish them off.

So even if she finally went a step further than she usually would in kidnapping Caitlyn, Vi was sure that Jinx hadn't actually killed the Sheriff. No, she wouldn't accept the fact that Caitlyn could be dead.

Until she saw her partner's broken down body, with Jinx looking her dead in the eyes proclaiming she did it, Vi wasn't going to believe any of that shit.

And that's why she found herself currently at Jayce's lab.

She had asked for his assistance in finding their sheriff and friend a few week's back, and he had finally found information that could help them.

"I found a lead. One of my contacts told me they saw Jinx walking around a neighborhood in the slums. They trailed her for a couple of days and said that she seemed to frequent the place. And it isn't too far from where we found Cait's cruiser," he detailed to her.

And for the first time since Caitlyn disappeared, Vi smiled.

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

 **Hey guys!**

 **It took some time, and quite a lot of reworks and minor adjustments, but I'm pleased to say that this chapter is now complete. I worked pretty hard on it, so I hope that you've all enjoyed it and if you feel so inclined, please leave a review to let me know what you thought of it. More than anything, I wanted to make sure that this chapter improved upon its predecessor in the original Broken Gears, while not losing any of the heavy emotion that it had, so let me know how well I did in that regard so I can see how much I've grown since then and make any necessary adjustments.**

 **But beyond that, as always, thank you all for reading and reviewing, and I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.**

 **Reader Responses**

 **To the two anonymous reviewers (I wish I had names so I can thank you guys more properly), thank you so much for the comments revolving around my growth since the original Broken Gears. It always pleases me to hear that I _have_ actually improved since then and that it's not just my imagination. And I hope that I have done you guys-as well as all my other readers-justice with this chapter, and I hope I will continue to do so moving on.**

 **(Also, _yeah..._ after rereading the original Broken Gears chapters, I felt physical pain with how cringeworthy some moments were. But I'm definitely more aware of my writing nowadays, so here's hoping that such painful scenes won't reappear anymore.)**


	13. Chapter 13: Waking Up

Caitlyn groaned as a bright light started burning into her closed vision.

Drowsily, she dragged a hand over her brow, in a vain effort to shield precious eyes. But as the light still found its way to her, through the cracks between her fingers, she could only let out another groan before deciding to will herself awake.

She longed to sleep some more, but apparently the morning sun refused to allow her more time. So with a pitiful sigh, she slid out of bed, stretching a bit as she sat up.

Begrudgingly, she acknowledged the fact that she needed to get up anyways, since her sleep schedule had been thrown completely off track and she was starting to get lazy. It was unbecoming for the Sheriff of Piltover to be a late sleeper and she needed to get back in the habit of waking up early.

But, as she paused in her thoughts, she couldn't help but think to herself, ' _Nah'-_ effectively convincing herself that she could always fix her sleeping patterns later.

After all, it's not as if she necessarily needs to fix it right now. As long as she fixed it upon returning to a more regular lifestyle, who really cared if she caught a couple more z's than she normally would?

And besides, she has never truly been a morning person at heart and now that she was given the chance, she was quite enjoying being able to sleep in without any repercussions. So if it had a negative result on her normal patterns for now, so be it. She'll just accept having to acclimate later.

Letting out a yawn, she stood up off the bed. For a second, she dimly wondered why she was in Jinx's room. But as the moment passed and her brain became a bit more awake, she remembered how she had chosen to sleep with Jinx the night before.

Looking over, she noted that the other side of the bed was empty. Curious, she searched throughout the rest of the room for the other girl's presence.

But there was no sign of the other's company at all, meaning that Jinx was already up and was elsewhere in the home. And do, with yet another groan, Caitlyn plucked her hat from the nightstand and put it on, before setting off to find the bluenette.

* * *

After several minutes of numbly stumbling through the home, Caitlyn eventually found Jinx in the kitchen, seemingly in the process of making breakfast. The girl was wearing an oversized t-shirt and humming to herself as she flipped a spatula-completely at ease while making their meal.

The sight explained the delicious smell Caitlyn had been smelling since she woke up. And as her stomach growled low at the smell, she was quite pleased to know that Jinx was already taking care of it.

Moving over, Caitlyn relaxed into one of the dining table's chairs. She let out a yawn, but was starting to wake up as she eased into the soft fabric of the chair. The brunette hadn't seemed to hear the yawn or noticed her yet, though. So Caitlyn decided to call out to get her host's attention.

But before she could say the words, Caitlyn couldn't help but hesitate a bit.

After the events of the night prior, she wasn't entirely sure how to approach the girl. After all, who was to say that Jinx wasn't still irritated over Caitlyn's breach in privacy and trust? The Sheriff certainly couldn't blame her for it. In fact, she almost _expected_ Jinx to have some lingering anger in her as she called out.

But anger was something Caitlyn could handle...more or less. As long as Jinx wasn't in the _other state_ she prominently displayed last night, Caitlyn was fine with whatever. She...she just _really_ didn't want to see Jinx in that heartbreakingly depressed state again.

Of course, she'd still caress the other girl through it all, all over again without a second thought otherwise. Nothing would stop her from doing that. But it would still pain Caitlyn deeply all the same. More so than she would ever want.

However, shaking her head to free her mind of her trepidation, Caitlyn decided to release a cautious "Jinx?" out to announce her presence to the other girl. No matter what the state Jinx was in, Caitlyn couldn't just sit here feeling awkward and uncomfortable forever. It would accomplish nothing.

Almost immediately upon hearing Caitlyn's words, the criminal turned to her words. And much to Caitlyn's relief, the expression worn on Jinx's face was neither the angry nor the sad one that Caitlyn had dreaded. Instead, Jinx wore her usual gleeful, if mildly disturbing, smile on her face. And Caitlyn was almost thankful. _Almost_.

"Hey! G'morning, sleepyhead! How'd you sleep?" Jinx was perky in her greeting as she sizzled bacon in a skillet. A little bit too perky for Caitlyn's tastes so early in the day, but it was...pleasant, in a certain manner.

"Fine enough, I suppose. What about you? Did you sleep well?" She replied, returning the pleasantries. But after she let a moment's breath pass, she quietly added, "And did you have any nightmares?" as well.

She couldn't help but remember the difficult, private words that had been divulged to her the night prior. And though she didn't want to overstep, she felt compelled to ask about it all. But Jinx visibly winced at the question as if Caitlyn had physically struck her and Caitlyn could have sworn she even heard the girl's breath hitch as well.

Seeing such a response caused regret to swell in Caitlyn, making her wonder if she had been much too impetuous in asking such a thing.

However, within a single blink of the Sheriff's eyes, Jinx was back to normal. As if nothing had happened in that short span. As if Caitlyn hadn't even asked the second question at all and Jinx had only heard the first.

"I slept like a baby! I mean, it was actually the _best_ , like I was laying on a bed of clouds or something! I feel like a million bucks!" Jinx chirped. Her words were said in typical Jinx fashion: lively and unnecessarily enthusiastic.

But after everything Caitlyn had heard yesterday, Jinx's casual tone had a new aspect to it: a subtle air of insincerity.

Everything she had read in the diary and learned of Jinx from elsewhere allowed her to easily tell that it was all just a front for Jinx. It told her that Jinx was hiding behind a mask of exuberance to play off her discomfort and possibly even her depression as well.

And as she recognized that, Caitlyn also noticed that Jinx hadn't actually answered her second question, either.

"Jinx...you didn't quite answer me fully. Tell me, did you have any nightmares last night?" Caitlyn pressed. She didn't particularly _want_ to force Jinx. But she was learning quickly that if she wasn't adamant and insistent when dealing with Jinx, she would never get any real answers from the girl. And not entirely to her surprise, she was correct in her judgement.

Jinx froze again, but this time, after a second's pass she murmured out a barely audible, " _No_ ," in response to Caitlyn's question. It wasn't the most satisfactory answer, obviously given just in hopes of placating the Sheriff. But as it seemed like it was the best Caitlyn was going to get out of her for now, Caitlyn let out a soft sigh and accepted the response.

And after Jinx-believing Caitlyn to be done pressuring her for the time being-returned to the food still cooking on the stove, an uncomfortable silence settled over the room. Caitlyn didn't know how to continue from there and Jinx obviously _didn't_ want to continue, so they both stayed quiet, effectively making the sizzling stove the only audible sound in the room beyond their breathing.

And several painfully long minutes passed like that before Jinx shut the stove off and turned to the table with plates of bacon and pancakes in hands. But by now, she had let the wide smile return to her face, probably in an attempt to diffuse the tension in the room, as she moved over to Caitlyn.

"Food's ready!" she announced gleefully, setting the table. And though Caitlyn wasn't entirely disarmed by her jovial attitude, she gave a small smile back and accepted it all the same.

And oddly enough, they even managed to have a small exchange of idle words as they began to dig into the food, much to Caitlyn's delight. It was nice to get away from the unpleasant speak, if only for a moment.

But as much as she wanted to, she found that she couldn't quite pay as much attention to the little talk as she would like.

Instead, her mind retreated right back to the unpleasant thoughts as she recalled the events of both this morning and the night before. She hadn't planned on it, but seeing how Jinx had reacted to her questions a few minutes ago had sparked some heavy mental consideration.

More than anything, she found herself silently wondering just how great was Jinx's trauma. After all, the aftermath of their confrontation the night prior led her to believe it ran deep. Deeper than anything Caitlyn could truly hope to remedy, really.

It wouldn't stop her from trying, of course. She was much too stubborn and prideful to give up due to inexperience or inability.

But it _would_ be significantly easier, at least, if Jinx were to simply cooperate with her.

After all, it had taken some effort merely to get Jinx to simply admit whether or not she had nightmares the night prior. Caitlyn couldn't even fathom getting anything actually significant out the girl, let alone getting Jinx to reveal her past. Especially considering Jinx is liable to just smile and brush off every question Caitlyn asks.

And speaking of which, Caitlyn couldn't help but wonder about how Jinx could just drop unpleasant topics so easily. She's noticed that trait of Jinx's since the first week she's been here, and has always wondered about it. Especially the morning of her birthday, the day immediately after Caitlyn had unfairly belittled and accused the girl. Jinx had been so quick to drop her anger over it all, even though she had been seething and hurt before.

But then, as Caitlyn narrowed her eyes, it hit her.

Jinx has had _years_ of experience in hiding her depressed thoughts. Likely dating all the way back to when she first hid the truth of her parents' death from Vi. So it was more than easy for the girl to drop whatever negative emotion she felt and bottle it all up.

Caitlyn wouldn't exactly call it an epiphany. It was more of a culmination of previous revelations in one than a single, large spontaneous one. But she realized that Jinx was _always_ masking her true emotions and thoughts underneath the guise of sheer gleefulness.

The girl was _always_ smiling. Always laughing. There hasn't really been one day where Caitlyn has seen Jinx anything _but_ gleeful.

 _Well...save for yesterday,_ Caitlyn couldn't help but mentally point out.

 _But if such a persona is only a mask for her to hide her pain, did that mean she is always hurting...?_

Caitlyn couldn't bear the thought.

Clearing her head, she didn't want to linger on the fact that Jinx is likely more broken than she could even fathom. Not now anyways.

No, right now, she'd rather move on to a different task at hand: figuring out if Jinx is stable enough to talk things over at least.

"Jinx?"

"Hmm," came the other girl's response. Caitlyn hesitated a moment, realizing that if she said the words, their otherwise pleasant breakfast would surely be ruined. But she decided that she needed to know more than anything else right now, and sucked it up.

"Are you okay?" She quietly asked, interrupting the bluenette who was shoveling more pancakes into her mouth.

"Uh, yeah?" Jinx nonchalantly returned, slightly muffled by the flapjacks in her mouth. As if remembering some semblance of tabletop manners, she swallowed down her meal, before adding, "Why?", as well.

But as she didn't seem to grasp the true meaning of Caitlyn's words, the Sheriff decided to awkwardly try again.

"...No, Jinx. What I mean is-considering how last night went, are you...okay?" She repeated, more detailed in her question. And this time, Jinx understood her intent, if her hardening expression was any indication.

"...yeah. Never better," she muttered dryly. By her tone, it was obvious that she didn't want to say anymore than that. But Caitlyn didn't want to drop things so soon. So instead, she pressed harder.

"Jinx...we need to talk."

"What do you mean? Aren't we doing that right now?" Jinx's joke would've been lighthearted enough any other time, but as it was clearly an attempt to avoid the topic at hand, Caitlyn let out a sigh. Taking Jinx's hands into her own, despite the girl's shock at the action, Caitlyn stared into Jinx's eyes to convey the gravity of it all and to hopefully draw out some seriousness from Jinx.

" _Please_ don't make this any harder than it needs to be. You know what I mean when I say 'let's talk', so don't pretend otherwise," Caitlyn pleaded.

"Now, if you _truly_ do not wish to continue, just tell me so outright and I will stop pressing you for now. But as I told you yesterday-I wish to help you become a better person. And, until I know more about you and what happened in your past, I can only do so much. So it would be _extremely_ helpful if you would just tell me what I need to know and not push me away with any unnecessary games. Please...just let me in, Jinx."

The other girl was quiet as she kept up the stare. And although Caitlyn didn't know what she was searching for exactly, Jinx seemed to be scanning her blue orbs intently for something. It was uncomfortable to be under the girl's scrutiny, but she endured it regardless. And after a long, silent moment passed, Jinx finally broke off the gaze, closing her eyes shut.

"...Before I tell you anything-you keep saying that you want to help me. But do you...do you truly mean that? Or do you just plan to use whatever I say against me when everything is all said and done? To hurt me and make me vulnerable or whatever?"

Caitlyn's brows raised in surprise at the girl's words, as she felt shocked that Jinx would think such things.

" _What?_ No, of course not! What would make you have such horrible notions, Jinx?"

"...Don't be so surprised," Jinx muttered as she reopened her eyes to take in the other's shocked appearance.

"After all, we aren't really supposed to be all buddy-buddy, Hat Lady. And tell me-if you had found out my secrets on day one, before you started to get to know me-would you have reacted the same way? Or would you have started to think of all the ways to use the information against me?"

Caitlyn's face morphed into a frown as she took in the words.

"...As much as I rather say the former...the latter is unfortunately closer to the truth," she begrudgingly admitted.

"Yeah. I thought so. So now, is it really all that surprising then, that I'm a little nervous to tell my innermost secrets to someone who, by all rights, should-and not too long ago, _would_ be using them to put me down?"

As the girl finished speaking, her bitter words struck a nerve in Caitlyn, making her feel numb and hurt. She didn't entirely know where Jinx was coming from with the harsh accusations. And she almost want# But nevertheless, she challenged Jinx's statements with strong words of her own.

"No. I suppose it isn't. However, it's a little harsh to consider our 'supposed' roles at this point in time, don't you think? After all, we haven't been Sheriff and Most Wanted for a month or so. Which means, I haven't wanted such things for you in a fair while. And I don't know about you, but I personally was getting quite used to being _just_ Caitlyn and Jinx instead."

Jinx's expression matched Caitlyn's now, with a frown growing on her own face. But where Caitlyn's was one showcasing her disappoint, Jinx's was much more ashamed than anything else.

"I...I'm sorry, Hat Lady. It's just-I keep thinking that you'll flip the switch for some reason and go back to wanting me in a lightless hellhole prison cell. And as fun as it would be to go back to the days of exchanging bullets at each other, I'd... _I'd_ _really miss you_. I'm just so scared..."

Jinx's voice cracked at the end of her words, and Caitlyn could see just how vulnerable she was now. It instantly emptied her of whatever hurt or anger she felt a moment ago, and the only thing she felt now was sympathy for the girl.

"Jinx…" Caitlyn gently started, "When's the last time you've trusted someone?"

The other girl understandably raised a brow at her question, but Caitlyn waved her off, prompting her to answer.

"I don't...I don't know. Why…?" The girl responded, obviously confused.

"A long time, right?"

"Yeah. I haven't been close enough to people to trust anyone for years. I've only been a terrorist to people, and before that-an experiment. You don't get all that close to people either way," Jinx elaborated as she furrowed her brows.

"Understandable. But now, you _are_ close enough to someone. And as hard as it might be for you to now trust someone after so many years, I need you to to do so. I need you to trust me just as _I_ do you," Caitlyn pleaded.

"After all this time, I've come to trust that you truly want to change and that you want me to help you. And although I still feel doubts spring up every now and then, I'm learning to suppress them, and wholly trust you. Now, I need you to return the favor and know that I only wish to help you. That I am _here_ for you." she finished.

Jinx studied her intently, as if trying to gauge the sincerity in Caitlyn's words. And by wearing an indiscernible expression, it was impossible for Caitlyn to tell what Jinx was thinking. But after Jinx let out a heavy sigh and broke the silence, she found that she didn't need to know.

"Alright...I trust you," Jinx finally stated. She then closed her eyes for a moment, as if gathering the courage to speak. Then, after a second or two had passed, she reopened them. But when Caitlyn looked into the pink orbs, they weren't the normal lively ones she's come to know.

No, they were haunted and glazed over. And even though Jinx was staring right at her, it was as if the girl was seeing beyond Caitlyn at something else entirely. And it disturbed the Sheriff, causing her to shudder and almost shirk under the peculiar gaze.

"...What you read in my diary-yeah, it was me," Jinx slowly began. "But _was_ is the keyword here. I wasn't exaggerating that much when I told you that Jessie died in Zaun. Because she- _I_ did. Since the day that the diary entries ended at, my life has been nothing but a _living hell._ "

"...Why? What _happened_ to you?" Caitlyn could only ask in reply with a frown.

"After that day, I got kidnapped and they...they broke me. Inside and out, _completely_ , and those bastards were pretty damn good at their jobs too. They wanted me and other kids for some sort of experiment-think biological soldiers and the like. So they wanted us hollowed out and wiped us clean of emotions. And to do it, they took whoever we were before and slaughtered them to make room for only two things: their commands and pure _bloodlust_."

Jinx's frown deepened as she looked down at their hands. Neither of them had noticed at first, but Jinx had subconsciously clenched her hands into tight fists underneath Caitlyn's, and they were now trembling as she recalled her inner horrors. Closing her eyes again, Jinx let out a shaky sigh.

"They would...test us. Have us train in warfare and combat, and then they'd sic us on whatever they felt like bringing in. Mutant Zaun rats. Indebted citizens. _Ourselves_. You name it. Practically whatever the psychos wanted to watch die that week. And then, every so often, the bastards would place the lot of us in a pit, having us fight in a battle royale. And even though they claimed it was for battlefield testing and to keep us light on our toes, I knew it always had an underlying purpose. To weed out the weak and teach us that allies, friends, _family_ -they don't exist for us _._ "

Jinx's face grew anguished as she thought back to the past

"I was never really close to any of the other kids, _but_ I still knew them well enough to give a damn about them. When _they_ threw us into that pit though...I just... _lost it all_. Before I knew it, I was fighting to survive every time, killing whoever I had to. Not caring about a single thing beyond surviving. And it wasn't until after the scientists stopped the carnage to keep some of us alive that I realized the blood I sat in and had on my hands was the _same fucking blood_ of the kids I would eat with and talk to everyday…"

"I…" Jinx took a shaky breath before shaking her head. "Sorry. I...I don't want to talk about any more today. I _can't_."

Caitlyn's heart broke a little as she saw nothing but pain in the other girl's eyes. And realizing that simply holding her hands was not enough, Caitlyn got out her seat and brought Jinx into an embrace.

"It's okay. You did good, and that's enough for now." Caitlyn murmured as she gently squeezed the trembling girl beneath her.

Jinx was surprised by the action at first, but after a moment, she accepted the warmth, and pulled Caitlyn closer. They stayed that way for a good couple of seconds before Caitlyn reluctantly broke the hug. Leaning down, she returned eye contact with the other girl, as she held onto Jinx's shoulders.

"And listen, Jinx. You don't have to press yourself or speak about more than you can handle. I know I've been fairly adamant about things, I'm sorry. But don't ever let me push you being your breaking point. Heaven knows that's the last thing I would want to happen."

As she finished her words, Caitlyn felt a small smile forming. "And I don't exactly want to have another moment like last night, either. Waterworks don't quite fit you well, my dear." Caitlyn decided to voice the playful thought, hoping to brighten the mood a bit. And as Jinx ended up grinning a bit herself, Caitlyn knew she was successful.

"Yeah, whatever. Being a therapist doesn't quite fit _you_ either, _my dear_ ," Jinx returned, playfully mocking Caitlyn, whose smile grin wider.

"True. But you can't fault me for trying, can you?"

Jinx chuckled.

"No...No, I can't. Thanks, Caitlyn," Jinx said, expressing sincere gratitude in her words. Caitlyn was momentarily taken back by the change, having expected Jinx to continue with their playful banter. But as she took in the words, her smile returned in full as she look at the other girl.

"You're absolutely welcome, Jinx." she replied, feeling a warmth rise in her. And then, she noticed something about what Jinx had said. And unable to help herself, she pointed it out.

"You know...you called me by my actual name just now. The first time ever, too, I believe. Not Hat Lady. Not Miss Sheriff. Not Miss Uppity or Big Hat or anything else of the kind. Just... _Caitlyn_."

For some reason, Jinx calling her by her real name felt... _nice_ to her. Natural even.

"Oh, I, uh...I did?" Jinx stammered out. Her pale skin made it clear to both of them that she was quite embarrassed, as her cheeks reddened. "I uh...I meant to say _Hat Lady_. Yeah."

Caitlyn grinned. "You know what? I don't quite believe you did. I think that you said _exactly_ what you wanted to say, even if you didn't mean for it to come out."

"...Oh, just eat your pancakes already," Jinx said, letting out a playful scoff. And though her blush was prominent on her cheeks, she couldn't help but smile and add, " _Caitlyn_." as well, drawing out a warm chuckle out the Sheriff.

"Very well then. _Jessie_."

As the other girl let out an indignant, "Hey!" Caitlyn laughed even harder.

* * *

"Hey, Hat Lady?"

Caitlyn looked away from the hexavision show they were watching to look at the girl opposite of her on the couch."

"Hmm?"

Jinx twiddle with her thumbs and looked away from Caitlyn, as if debating whether or not to say something. Caitlyn raised a brow at the display, but with silent mirth, she waited for the girl to speak. And finally, after a long pause, Jinx sighed and stopped her motion.

But as she stared sadly at the hexavision show now, Caitlyn's humor died down and she decides to ask what was wrong.

"Jinx. What's-"

"-you can go home now," the other girl interrupted.

Caitlyn frowned at the words.

"...What?"

"I've been thinking about a lot of things lately- _too_ _many_ things, really, but that's not the point. The point is that I don't think I should be keeping you any longer. So I ended up disabling the electric field this morning before breakfast and I'm not going to stop you anymore. So if you want, you can leave and go back home," Jinx expanded, rushing her words. But they did nothing to clear up things for Caitlyn, only serving to confuse her more.

"Jinx...why would I do that?"

Jinx gave her a bewildered look, as if what she said was purely ludicrous. Which it probably was.

"What do you mean, _why_? You're the Sheriff and crime has gotten bad since I took you in. The city needs you back. And besides that, what about friends-your _family_! You don't want to just let them keep thinking you're dead, do you? I heard that they're even holding a funeral for you in a couple of days!"

Caitlyn went wide-eyed at that.

After all, it hadn't crossed her mind much lately to think on how everyone was faring. What's worse is that she hadn't even considered how much her parents must have suffered 'losing' her. Knowing that in just a few days they'd be lowering her empty casket bothered her deeply.

So much so, she wanted nothing more than to run out now to go and stop them. To tell them that it's okay-she's still alive. And more than anything, to stop their grieving and reassure them that she'd never leave again.

But closing her eyes, she shook her head.

 _Mother... Father... Vi…_

 _Everyone, I'm sorry. But I can't return. Not yet, at least._

As much as it truly pained her...as much as she knew her parents were devastated and Vi was likely tearing up the city, looking for remnants of her-she felt that she needed to stay with Jinx for now.

Looking at it from her position as Sheriff, she knew that if she could fix Jinx and help her become a better person (or at the very least, help her turn away from a life of crime), she'd be ridding the city of it's public enemy number one.

And besides her professional duty, she also made a personal commitment to Jinx, and she truly intended on keeping it. She didn't want to leave the girl so soon, especially after learning how fragile she really was.

Jinx has just began trusting her and was willing to not only divulge her past, but to show Caitlyn the broken side of herself that she has only ever hidden from others. In addition, the girl already has severe trust and abandonment issues as far as Caitlyn's concerned.

If Caitlyn were to be as cruel as to just leave her right now- even provided that Jinx was the one to suggest her doing so-Jinx might regret letting her go so early. And if that regret evolved into her perceiving Caitlyn as another person to have abandoned her when she needed help-who knows what might happen.

She could end up slipping back into a criminal lifestyle again, losing all of the progress she has gained over the last few weeks.

Or...she could even get worse and shut down completely. And although Jinx hasn't shown too many signs of it so far, Caitlyn feared she might end up _suicidal_ even.

Either way, Caitlyn didn't want to find out how far Jinx would go.

And maybe it is irrational thinking from Caitlyn. Maybe Jinx would be perfectly fine if Caitlyn left, and would not return to crime. Maybe she'd just patiently wait for Caitlyn to return again, be it days, weeks, or months from now.

But Caitlyn didn't like the odds of everything being just fine and dandy.

So if it meant she had to put her family and friends through grief for a bit longer, so...so be it. She couldn't let the city as a whole suffer from a broken Jinx any longer. Nor could let the girl herself suffer alone anymore.

"My family is strong. So are the people I consider friends," Caitlyn began. "...I am sure that they will be able to withstand another week or two without me."

" _Caitlyn_ -"

"Ah-ah," Caitlyn interrupted the girl with a raised finger, effectively silencing her. "It's not for debate, Jinx. And besides. I made a promise to you. I intend on keeping it."

Even though Caitlyn was adamant with her words, Jinx frowned, obviously still wanting to protest them.

"I get it. You made a promise to not leave me and all that. But while that's nice and all, I don't want you to just _ignore_ everyone else! I mean, yeah, _maybe_ I did when I first kidnapped you. But that was _before_ your folks started making plans to bury a casket with your name on it! As crazy as it sounds coming from me, you can't just stay here forever!"

Despite the seriousness of the words coming out the other girl, Caitlyn couldn't help but burst into a grin.

"You're right. It does sound crazy coming from you," she teased. But as Jinx narrowed her eyes, Caitlyn waved a hand, letting out a laugh.

"Oh relax. But yes, I suppose you're correct-I can't stay here forever. However...I don't intend to. What I _do_ intend on doing, is visiting you whenever I can after I leave. Once I return to my regular life, I will certainly find ways to keep in contact with you to maintain this growing amicable relationship. I won't simply let us return to being 'rivals', as you'd say."

Letting the words set it with a brief pause, Caitlyn then narrowed her eyes.

" _But_ before we even get to that point and before I consider leaving. I'd like to make sure you are stable first. So then, that begs the question: are you?"

Jinx was quick to reply, letting out a scoff.

"Of course I am. I'm a perfect picture of stability!"

But Caitlyn raised a brow at her words.

" _Really_? So if I were to pack my bags right now, would you manage to sleep soundly tonight?"

This time, Jinx faltered at her question. "Uh yeah. Like a baby!"

"Mmm, so no nightmares whatsoever?"

Jinx winced.

"U-uh huh!"

"Jinx."

"...Maybe?"

Caitlyn just rolled her eyes at the girl's half-hearted shrug. "Well, until the answer to that question is a resounding yes, I don't feel all that comfortable with leaving so soon."

"You can't just...look, I'm perfectly fine Caitlyn! I don't need to be babied, okay? I've lived with this crappy life for _years_. If I haven't died or broke down this far along, I doubt I will anytime soon. So just go be with your folks already, you stubborn butt."

Caitlyn deadpanned at the girl's childish insult, but with a shake of her head, she decided to just ignore it. Instead, she decided to try taking a different approach to the topic.

"Jinx. How about you give me a week's time. By then, I'm sure you'll be able to talk more about your past and everything, and we'll be able to make some progress before I return to the city. And I suppose if we don't, then I'll still return all the same. I don't want to baby you, I just...I just don't want to be too hasty."

Jinx was silent as she _hopefully_ contemplated Caitlyn's words. The Sheriff could tell that Jinx was struggling with the idea of it all, but she hoped that the bluenette would just allow her the chance. However, she remained quiet herself, choosing to not say anything more to try and convince the girl. She would leave the decision to Jinx.

After some time passed, Jinx blew out air from puffed cheek and frowned. But finally, she looked Caitlyn in the eyes once more and it was clear that she decided.

"This is dumb, you know. Like, _Vi_ level dumb. Which is, pretty dumb for you actually. I mean, I don't even know if I'll _ever_ be able to talk about my past in detail. But...if you're really this serious, Hat Lady-"

"I am."

"-Then, fine. Whatever. But when your folks gets pissed because you wanted to stay here longer, don't go around blaming me."

Caitlyn couldn't help but laugh at that, with a warm smile forming on her face after.

"Very well, then. Even though it is still mostly _your_ fault for my being here, I will deal with my family when the time arises. But thank you, Jinx."

Jinx grinned herself.

"Don't mention it! Now then, Hat Lady-or should I say, _Dr. Hat Lady_ , since you're going to be my personal shrink these next couple of days?"

"...No. Don't call me that," Caitlyn replied, grimacing a bit at the title. She was by no means professional enough at mental therapy to be considered a doctor. And besides, it sounded ridiculous.

"Heh. Alright. Anyways, how about we do something fun now. I'm getting tired of all this depressing talk and stuff."

"Sounds fine to me. What do you have in mind."

As she said the words, a strong glimmer lit up in the other girl's eyes, and Caitlyn quickly wondered if she had made a mistake in asking.

"Hmm. You know what sounds fun? Modifying your gun and giving it explosive rounds! I can make it like a mini Fishbones-esque sniper rifle!"

Caitlyn went wide-eyed.

"Jinx, no."

"Jinx, _yes_."

Scowling, the Sheriff glared at the other girl who's grin was widespread on her face. " _Jinx_. _No_. I refuse to let you modify my rifle any further."

"Oh come on, Hat Lady!" Jinx whined. "I'm not going to break it or anything! I won't even do the explosive rounds if you really don't want them. Just let me make it better. Please?!"

As Jinx gave her the most pitiful but effective puppy dog face, Caitlyn could only pinch the bridge of her nose as she closed her eyes and considered her options.

On one hand, her gun is precious to her. She simply didn't want it to be transformed, even if for the better. She didn't even let Vi tinker with it when the Enforcer had asked.

But…on the other hand, however, Jinx _is_ a genius with technology. The girl could seriously improve the gun's functionality and effectiveness. Far beyond what Caitlyn herself could do. And if she just reels the girl in, she could maintain the trademarks of her gun while still getting it improved.

And besides, if she wanted to learn more about Jinx's past, she couldn't just ignore Jinx's present. She needs to bond with the other girl more and build her trust. And if that meant her poor baby had to be sacrificed...then so...be it.

...If only to a certain degree.

"Fine. You may modify it," she begrudgingly stated, drawing out a shout of glee from the other girl. But Caitlyn quickly silenced the girl's cheers with a solely raised index finger.

"Only if you adhere to a few conditions."

Jinx's smile falter at that, and she focused a bit more.

"Alright, name your price then."

"Firstly, no extensive changes. I don't need it to transform into a bloody car or anything else ridiculous, mind you."

"Eh, fair enough," Jinx returned with a shrug. "What else?"

"I want to be able to _understand_ what was changed when everything is all said and done. Don't go around adding stuff that I'll have no clue how to operate. Like that inferblue stuff you added a while back."

"You mean _infrared_?" Jinx supplied with a smirk.

"Whatever," Caitlyn returned with a wave of her hand. "Don't customize my gun either. Meaning, no dying it pink, blue, or any other bloody color. And don't go around giving it a shark mouth or bunny ears either. I want it to be the same gun that it's been since its time as my father's trusty hunting rifle."

"Bleh. I didn't have plans to give it purple polka dots with little blue gears everywhere _anyways_."

Rolling her eyes at the girl, Caitlyn let out a low chuckle before she gave out her final rule.

"And for the love of all things holy, _do not_ break it."

Jinx scoffed at her words, as she placed a hand on her chest and faked offense. "Okay, now wait one moment here, Hat Lady. Who do you think I am? An _amateur_? I have never broken a single thing that I've worked on. Ever. And quite frankly, I am insulted that you would even _think_ that I would simply break it. How _ridiculous!_ "

Snorting, Caitlyn couldn't help but be amused by the girl's haughty dramatics.

"You're a mess, Jinx. I hope you know that.

The other girl grinned at that. "Yeah, I do. But don't worry so much. I'm not going to break or screw your gun up."

"Well then, I permit you to work on it. Just...try to not make me regret saying that."

"Yeah yeah," Jinx returned, waving her off. Already, she looked to be imagining how she'd work on the rifle and if the growing grin on her face was any indication, she's completely tuning Caitlyn out now.

"I think I'm gonna increase the scope some more first. And then, maybe I'll work on the firing mechanism. Ooh, I can also reduce the recoil too. That would be good. And then I can..." Jinx trailed off in her mumbling of technological nonsense as she got up from the table, taking her finished dishes to the sink.

And as she watched the girl, who was growing more and more excited of the prospect of modifying the treasured firearm, Caitlyn wondered if she made a bad decision letting the other girl near her gun.

But shaking her head and letting out a soft, she returned to her meal to hurry up and follow Jinx anyways.

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

 **Well this one somehow ended up pretty lengthy. Sorry about that. Hopefully you guys enjoy it all the same, however!**

 **As always, thank you for reading and reviewing!**

 **Reader Responses**

 **ExiledS0ul - Thank you for such a great and well-worded review! I can't lie, I actually had such a huge smile on my face as I read it, and it was just one of those reviews to me that makes writing this story so much more worth it. Thank you so much.**

 **Guest - I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed the last chapter! I don't think I have ever worked so hard on a story chapter than I did for that one, because I really wanted it to show. And with your comment, as well as others, I can happily tell that my efforts have paid off, and that I was able to not only match the atmosphere that the same chapter in the original Broken Gears had, but dramatically improve upon it as well. And that's a pretty damn satisfying feeling.**

 **(Oh, and don't worry. I have some ideas for how I will be revamping the reuniting scene between Jinx and Vi. For now though, you'll just have to wait and see how it all will turn out. But I guarantee that there will be much more exciting conflict than before.)**


	14. Chapter 14: Workshop Stories

"And here we are! The place where all the magic happens!" Jinx exclaimed gleefully, as she led Caitlyn inside.

Taking in the sights, Caitlyn couldn't help but be impressed.

The workshop was a giant, hollowed out floor of the complex, with nothing more than some sturdy pillars remaining to hold the ceiling up. But to say it was empty would be the furthest thing from the truth. No, the giant room was very… _very_ full.

Scattered throughout were hundreds of blueprints. Some were thrown haphazardly on the floor. Others, seemingly hastily pinned to the walls and pillars with tape. And still more were laid about on tables located throughout or attached to mobile chalkboards. Practically everywhere Caitlyn could look, there was some form of diagram.

And everywhere else that Caitlyn observed, there were prototypes of bombs, guns, and a multitude of firearms and other weaponry. There were even some strange looking machines also scattered about throughout.

All in short, the workshop was a disorganized mess of genius and insanity.

"Ah! This is going to be so. Much _. Fun_!" Jinx squealed, giddy as she skipped deeper into the room. Caitlyn arched a brow at the girl's excitement but didn't question it, knowing by now Jinx's obsession with inventing and weaponry. Instead, she wanted to ask what specifically they'd be doing. But as her foot caught the underside of some contraption, she found that she couldn't appropriately let out anything but a surprised yelp. It took all she had not to completely fall flat on her face, and as it was, she barely managed to grip the side of a nearby table with her hand to keep herself safe.

"Uh… whatcha doing there, Hat Lady?" Jinx said, having turned around at the commotion.

But Caitlyn only deadpanned, letting her know just how dumb of a question it was.

"Really? What does it _look_ like? I tripped over your mess."

"You know, you really shouldn't do that, Hat Lady. It's really dangerous to fall haphazardly like that," Jinx returned, giving Caitlyn a mischievous grin.

Caitlyn only gave the girl a roll of her eyes as she accepted a hand to help her up.

"Gee, thanks for the advice," she muttered sarcastically. "Perhaps you might have wanted to give me a warning _beforehand_."

"Oh hey, that reminds me. I meant to tell you that you should really watch out where you're going in here. I kinda leave stuff lying around here and there. Don't want you to hurt yourself or anything."

Caitlyn scowled at the girl, who gave her a shit-eating grin in return.

"You are the bane of my existence. I hope you know that," she grumbled out.

"Oh don't worry, I do! I practically live for it!"

Rolling her eyes, Caitlyn couldn't help but grin.

"Whatever. At any rate, weren't you planning on showing me something or working on my rifle?"

"Oh, yeah! Almost forgot bout that. Come over here real quick."

Following the other girl, Caitlyn was led through the large room. And as she went by, she couldn't help but notice grenades, guns, and traps scattered about. It was apparent that Jinx was not only making use of the room as a workshop, but as an armory as well.

And with all of the loose bullets and spare parts scattered messily throughout, it was exactly how Caitlyn imagined Jinx's primary working space would be.

"Alright, here we are…" Jinx announced as she brought Caitlyn to a large desk area in a back corner. It had a variety of tools scattered all over it, as well as Jinx's main equipment. It was clear to Caitlyn that it was Jinx's primary workstation and was well used.

"This is where all the magic happens. I like to call it the Fun Factory!" Jinx told her, holding her arms widespread to display it all.

"Didn't you say that the workshop as a _whole_ is where the magic happens?" Caitlyn returned mirthfully as she raised a brow.

"Pfft, it is. But this… this is where all the _true_ magic happens. This is where all of my pride and joy is spent. Where my babies are born. Where my _dreams_ are fulfilled. Where my-"

" _Ok_ , ok. I get it, Jinx." Caitlyn interrupted, chuckling. "I'm sure it is quite the significant spot for you. But while I'm sure you can go on and on about your beloved workstation, wouldn't you rather we work on my rifle? I know I would. And after all, is that not what we came here for?"

Jinx pouted at the words. "Oh, you're just jealous. It's not _its_ fault that I place more of my attention to it than you. Blame me, not my beautiful fountain of creation."

Hearing the ridiculous words, Caitlyn could only snort and raise an eyebrow. "Jealous? Of your 'beautiful fountain of creation'?"

"Yes, of my _beautiful fountain of creation_."

"...You're incorrigible."

"Why, _thank you_!"

Caitlyn shook her head, letting out a chuckle. She watched as Jinx proceeded to clear off her messy desk full of tools, gears, empty candy wrappers, and soda cans to make adequate room for the rifle. Then, taking it from Caitlyn's hands, she set it down and took a seat in a desk chair pulled up to the workstation.

"You can get comfortable on the couch, by the way," Jinx said as she began inspecting the rifle, pointing to a loveseat only a few feet behind.

Listening to the instruction, she sat down on the well-used couch, removing and setting down her hat on the cushion next to her. It was clear that Jinx often fell asleep on the couch from late nights at work on inventions, as a pillow and some sheets were spread on it.

And as Caitlyn shoved them aside, it idly occurred to her that Jinx was truly dedicated to her engineering. It was important enough to her that she was clearly willing to pull late nights working on projects; which this bed away from her bed suggested happened often. Or at the very least, Jinx wanted to minimize the amount of time she spent away from her work.

But regardless, it was obvious that Jinx's dedication to her craft easily matched Caitlyn's own in regards to her work at the police station. Albeit, she was sure that Jinx enjoyed her late nights inventing a lot more than Caitlyn did her own late nights working on paperwork.

Returning back to the girl, she watched Jinx continue to inspect her gun. As she spectated, Caitlyn took notice of some blueprints pinned on the desk's panels. And as she scanned then, she found many to be extremely detailed, with diagrams depicting each and every specific component of the inventions displayed on them.

One blueprint she saw was for an "Ultra-Super Death Rocket", an upgrade to her already giant rocket, that could explode into flaming shrapnel when it collided with an object. Another one showed an upgrade to Fishbones, with the words " _heat-seeking rockets_!" underlined with bold print.

And though she could not understand all the complex wording also used to describe some of the upgrades, Caitlyn could easily tell from the diagrams that they were extremely complicated builds and the product of an extremely gifted mind.

...She found it all to be as equally astonishing as it was peculiar.

It is all definitely a testament to how genius Jinx is in regards to technology and engineering, to say the least. Not to say that Caitlyn had ever had doubts, however; because after all, Caitlyn had trusted Jinx's brilliance ever since Jinx revealed to her that she had personally created her arsenal. Not to mention, the girl had created a wheelchair for her to move in during the span of a day or two.

But seeing Jinx's work firsthand was a whole new experience to behold. And it was amazing to see how meticulous Jinx was when creating things.

But… it was also a bit saddening to Caitlyn.

Because all of Jinx's brilliance… it was wasted on nothing more than destruction and havoc. All these blueprints and parts-they were for weapons. Nothing meant for goodwill. Certainly, nothing that could aid or make life better.

No. There was no benevolence to be found here.

Only ill will and the intent to design more and more tools of strife and chaos. And Caitlyn hated it.

She could only imagine how, if someone had just been there for the girl in the beginning, she could have been an amazing engineer and inventor. She could have aimed her talents toward saving and improving lives, rather than destroying them.

But life hadn't granted a fair hand to Jinx, and so too, did she feel the need to spread her misfortune onto others. And even though it wasn't right, Caitlyn could finally understand it after having taken a deeper look into Jinx's past. After all, when the world itself doesn't care about you, why should you care about it?

But… she cares.

Or at least, she does now, after walking in Jinx's shoes more or less. And maybe, if she were to convince others as well… Jinx would care again too.

So Caitlyn made firm her resolve. She won't rest until she restores Jinx's connection to humanity. Because only then, once she can no longer be apathetic to the harm she causes through her anarchy, will she truly be able to turn her life around.

* * *

"...Where did you even learn how to do all of this?" Caitlyn asked.

She had been mostly silent as she watched the energetic girl tinker with her gun all this time. But after almost an hour of observing how masterfully Jinx worked at the intricacies of the gun, she couldn't help but marvel and be curious at how the girl learned her skills.

"Your handiwork is quite impressive, I must say. Or at least it is when it's not being used to destroy the city. But I am fairly curious as to how you developed such prowess in engineering, at any rate."

"Complimenting me again, Hat Lady? What is it, my birthday or something?" Jinx teased, drawing out a roll of Caitlyn's eyes.

"Must you always make being nice to you an annoying endeavor. And calling you 'incorrigible' is not even remotely close to being a compliment. If anything, it was an insult."

"Eh, that's open to interpretation," Jinx returned, grinning. "But what do you mean? You should know how already. I mean, you read my diary, right?"

"Yes, I did," Caitlyn returned, thinking back to what she read. "But it didn't seem like you learned enough to be as skilled as you are now. Were there no other sources that you left out, or learned from later on?"

"Mmm… no, not really. I learned a lot from those Zaun kids I was with. And the occasional engineering magazine and your mom herself, back when she taught my class all those years ago-they helped a lot too. Since I learned the basics as a kid from my dad, I picked up on new things fast. I wasn't old enough to understand much of it. But what I did understand stuck with me and started my love for beautiful, beautiful creations."

Caitlyn chuckled a bit as she watched the girl proceeded to stroke one of her said 'beautiful creations', Fishbones, in her exaggerated manner. But she couldn't help but feel a bit curious about something well.

"Mmm… Jinx?"

"Huh?"

"Tell me more about your father. I'd love to learn more."

Jinx faltered at the statement, fumbling with her tools a bit. Taking a second to adjust, she stopped working on the gun and turned to Caitlyn.

"What? Why?" the girl asked with furrowed brows. At this point, it was clear that Caitlyn was starting to venture on shaky ground with her curiosity, but she couldn't help herself.

"Merely curious. You've spoken about him before with such praise, both in and out your diary-and I was wondering what kind of man he was. But feel free to not detail everything, if anything at all. I can easily imagine it is an uncomfortable subject and all..."

Jinx was silent as Caitlyn trailed off. Looking the girl in the eyes, Caitlyn wondered if she had overstepped. But before she could backtrack or even say a thing, Jinx interrupted her.

"He was… a good dad," she began quietly, looking down at her tools. "Probably not the best, but he was good enough for me. He was always so loving and caring to me and mom-and Vi too, when she came along. And he was pretty fun too. Always cracking jokes, showing me cool inventions, and teaching me how they work."

"But he… he made a terrible decision to work in Zaun. He leaped for an easy path in life, accidentally pissed off a psychopath that he shouldn't have, and our family paid a terrible price for it all. And while I don't resent him for it really... I can't help but wish to go back in time and smack some sense into him. You know?" Jinx said, giving Caitlyn a small, rueful smile.

"...I see. I suppose I can understand that. But… I believe he only sought what was immediately best for your family during a difficult time. Faulting him for that isn't completely fair, don't you think?."

"Yeah. It isn't. That's why I _don't_ resent him. But it's just… _really hard_ not to want to."

"I'm sure it is. But just… _try_ to not let what happened taint your memory of him, okay? It's not quite my place to say, of course, but I wouldn't want you to allow a few foul decisions made in the past to absolutely ruin your entire memory of someone. Especially someone you were especially close to."

Jinx gave a small sigh. "Yeah, you're right. I shouldn't let the shit that ended up happening ruin what I remember of my dad. It wasn't _his_ fault that he and mom were killed. It was the maniac asshole who ordered the assassin to hit us."

At that, Caitlyn raised a brow. Jinx hadn't mentioned a single individual behind the events of her past before. She wanted to mention it, and ask questions. But the other girl's expression was of anger and bitterness. And she decided that now was not the time for an in-depth investigation. Instead, she directed her efforts to something else that had piqued her curiosity.

"Well, if nothing else, he sounds like he was a wonderful father," she murmured in respect. "But what of your mother? What was she like?"

"My mom? Well, most of the time, she was mostly just your typical passive, redirecting mom. You know, the whole, "Listen to your father, dear," or "I don't know, ask your father." And she didn't really listen to me much either. I mean I know I was a kid and all, but she barely gave me the time of day sometimes. But she still loved me and all that. And when she got a chance to unwind from stress, she could be kinda cool even. She would play games and take me to places, whenever my dad couldn't. But she just did what she could to give our family a happy life for the most part, even though it all went south when my dad lost his job."

"I see. But before that, it seems like you had a decent childhood, more or less. The diary didn't touch on it too much, and I'm happy to hear not all of your life was miserable."

"Yeah? Well... a good 90 percent of it was so shitty that the 10 that my childhood makes up seems like a detached lucid dream I once had," Jinx muttered, bitterness creeping back into her tone as she returned to her tinkering.

Uncomfortable at the darkening mood of the girl, Caitlyn realized that she needed to change the conversation. And with a cough, she asked about something else.

"...What about Vi? You believe her to be your sister, correct? What was she like as a child?"

Jinx paused in her work again and looked at Caitlyn with a deadpan.

"...You've heard the expression "curiosity killed the cat" before, right? Because Hat Lady, your curiosity is starting to press buttons now."

Caitlyn winced. "Sorry. You're right, I'm being tactless. Ignore me."

Jinx let out a sigh. Then she looked back down to Caitlyn's gun and the part she had been adjusting.

"She… she was a cute kid. Kinda annoying at times. But energetic and always fun to play with. Sucks that all she wants to do now is punch my face in. Stupid adult Vi," Jinx grumbled. Picking up a wrench, she moved it back and forth in her hands. "I miss when her punches were soft and ticklish, you know. Now... she has big fat, _stupid_ hands. Not as cute to get punched by her anymore."

Despite Jinx's bitter and saddened tone, Caitlyn couldn't help but chuckle.

"No, I wouldn't imagine it would be. Hextech gauntlets are quite a step above children boxing gloves, after all."

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure if she tried to punch me in the face now, it would do a lot more than just leave my cheek sore."

Caitlyn snorted at that. But as she lingered on Jinx's words, her mirth started to die down and she thought seriously on their present relationship. And she grew quiet for a minute.

"Jinx… shouldn't you make Vi aware of your connection?" she asked after a moment. "She has gone most of her life believing herself to have no living relative. And yet, here you are-sharing flesh and blood as her. It would be good for you _both_ to reunite."

Jinx shook her head, giving Caitlyn a humorless laugh. "Don't you think I tried that already? When I first came back to Piltover and realized who she was I was _ecstatic_. I couldn't believe she lived. When I found her, I tried to tell her everything, _starting_ with the fact that we're sisters. But she didn't listen to one bit. She _never_ listens. Wanna know what she said after I mentioned the word sister? "Fuck off. I don't have any family, you scrawny pale freak.""

Caitlyn went wide-eyed at the words. Then she scowled and felt her face go hot. Never in her life has she been more angry and disappointed with the reckless and ignorant actions of her partner. Even if Jinx hadn't truly been her sister, to say such a thing to someone regardless is inexcusable and disgusting. And she felt more than sorry for Jinx.

"Jinx, I-"

"Nah, don't worry. You know you how she is. That Vi. Punch first, then talk if they're still twitching," Jinx joked. But there was no humor in her voice.

"She has a head thicker than her fists are fat and with that mentality-yeah it doesn't really make her good at listening. Even if you beg her to hear you out. Even if you _promise_ to give proof. Yup. No can do with convincing that."

Caitlyn could hear hurt in Jinx's words, and she felt awful. She was starting to get a clear picture as to what might have happened now. Upon escaping the hell she had been enslaved in for years, Jinx returned to Piltover and discovered that her sister was still alive and well. She then got her hopes up to reunite with Vi. But because Vi had so callously rejected her, the already fragile mental state she was in led to her snapping and going on an uncontrolled rampage, solidifying herself as the city's most wanted. Possibly to even spite Vi, who was on the exact opposite side of the law.

But Caitlyn knew that Vi, despite the harsh words she had given, longs deeply for the family she is missing. Just as much as Jinx does.

"She is… stubborn and ignorant to a fault. But even though she went about doing so in the most _idiotic_ and callous manner, I think Vi was merely trying to protect herself. She, like you, mourns her missing family. But while you still hold your memories, she does not, for whatever reason. So you have to understand that she wasn't trying to hurt you necessarily. She just wanted to avoid being misled and abused. It has happened to her before."

"Yeah? Well I don't give a damn," Jinx returned coldly. "All I wanted was my sister back. And what I got instead was an idiot blockhead who shut me down before I even got a word in. So _you_ have to understand that I'm still pissed."

"I do," Caitlyn was quick to say. "But we can resolve things between you two. Let _me_ try to do so. She will listen to me, if no one else. She trusts me, just as I'm sure you now do. I can get her to listen to you."

Jinx was silent, staring at Caitlyn with a frown. But after a moment, she let out a sigh, closing her eyes.

"Well, it sucks that she won't bother listening to the person who saved her stupid life. But if you can get her to use some common sense, then be my guest," she let out, reopening her eyes and shrugging. "For what it's worth, I think it's a lost cause. She's too dumb to understand reasoning."

"I think… that in the past, I might have said the same. But I'm quickly learning that with you two, nothing is truly a lost cause," Caitlyn returned with a smile. And to her surprise, Jinx matched it with a small smile of her own, holding it for a moment. Then, after letting out a fake cough, Jinx shied away, moving back to her work on Caitlyn's rifle.

"Alright, well that's enough about me. I want to be the one doing prying now. Let's talk about _you_ for a change," Jinx said, as she picked up a tool.

"Oh?" Caitlyn returned, raising a brow. "And what would you like to know about me?"

"Uh…" Jinx muttered, obviously not actually sure what to ask. "How about... starting with the beginning? What did _you_ do as a kid and what was your childhood like?"

"My childhood? It wasn't much of anything interesting to be perfectly honest. For the most of it, I spent my time and efforts focusing on my education. That is, when I wasn't reading at my leisure. Truth be told, I didn't do anything significant until I was nearly reaching adulthood."

"Ah. I'm calling b.s. on that one. Didn't you track down some low-time crooks that mugged your dad at 13? I remember seeing that in some article on your biography."

" _14_ , actually. And it really wasn't anything remarkable. It was merely something I felt needed to be done."

Jinx rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, alright. If you say so. I don't think most 14-year-olds go out and stop criminals just because they feel it needs to be done, though."

"Fair point," Caitlyn replied with a smirk. "Still, I truly didn't do anything else noteworthy until my late teenage years. Which hardly counts as childhood."

"Aww, come on, Hat Lady. I mean, I knew you could be more boring than a stick in the mud, but not that boring. You have to have something to tell me," Jinx pouted, drawing a frown from Caitlyn over her words.

"What about your parents? You get along with them well?"

"I would like to think so. I tend to connect better with my father, but I remain just as close to my mother as well, despite our vastly different professions. And as I still reside with them, I see them often enough, as well."

"Sounds nice," Jinx returned. Caitlyn hummed in agreement, but said nothing else. And as Jinx continued her work, the two settled into silence.

Caitlyn observed Jinx's tinkering for a small moment but slowly began to drift off and look around the workshop some more. Some of the prototypes scattered here and there caught her eye. And although she didn't know too much about them, she knew they were intricate inventions that she probably would never truly understand. It almost made her wish she knew more about engineering and technology, just so she'd grasp how half the things in the room even worked.

"...And done!" Jinx announced, bringing Caitlyn's attention back onto her. Putting her tools back into their proper places, she lifted up Caitlyn's rifle and turned around to show the Sheriff.

On the surface, Caitlyn noted that it was mostly the same. Jinx had properly adhered to her conditions and left its overall design intact. In fact, Caitlyn couldn't visibly see the changes Jinx made, prompting her to wonder what was different.

"What all did you adjust?" she asked.

"Not too much. Just the stuff I was going about earlier," Jinx answered. "I upped the scope to match the new lens on your hat and improved the firing mechanism to let you fire faster if you want. Oh, and I reduced the recoil to match."

"I see," Caitlyn said, taking the rifle from Jinx's offering hands. She felt around the grooves she knew inside and out, and tested the weight in her hands. She noticed a slight difference, likely due to the new changes Jinx added, but more or less it was the same as always.

"Thank you, Jinx. I'm certain these improvements will aid me greatly."

Jinx waved her off. "Nah, don't mention it. I love working on stuff, and your rifle is pretty interesting in a sorta old-timey way. They don't make hunting rifles like that anymore and it reminds me of the kinda stuff my dad would tinker with when I was young."

"Really? That's interesting. But this gun is fairly old, so I can understand. My father was hunting with it long before I was born. It's at least 30 years old."

"Yeah. That's pretty old. But it's good quality. Was made pretty solid for it to have lasted intact so long. Even considering the modifications your mom probably made."

"Mmm, she didn't add too much to its original design actually."

"Really?"

Caitlyn nodded.

"Indeed. I specifically requested for her not to. I was used to the original, and she respected my wish and kept it more or less the same. All she did was add extra lens, as well as enable the barrel to extend for greater range. Or so she told me. Though, to be honest, I'm sure she did something else as well, but I either forgot or overlooked it due to misunderstanding."

"Huh. You know, you really should start learning more about technology, Hat Lady," Jinx mentioned. "You'll never know when it could be important to know something. Knowledge is power and all that."

"...Perhaps you're right," Caitlyn admitted. "I never took well to my mother's instructions. It would only frustrate me whenever she went into depth on the mechanics of things. So I've only ever learned the mere basics, and they were all I've needed thus far. But I would like to know more, I suppose-if only to make sense of all these changes you make."

"Well, I could teach you if you want," Jinx offered.

Caitlyn raised a brow. "I can't imagine you as a good instructor, to be perfectly honest."

"What?" Jinx let out, putting on an exaggerated display of offense. "I'm an _excellent_ teacher. Just you watch. I'll have you knowing the ins and outs of advanced hextech within a day."

"Ambitious, aren't you? Well then, go ahead, miss teacher. I expect to know enough to put my mother to shame by the end of the week."

Jinx burst into laughter.

"Hey, I said I'd teach you. Not turn you into a renowned legend of an engineer like your mom. How about we settle with just impressing her?"

Caitlyn let out a small chuckle herself. "I suppose that will have to satisfy me, then. But I'll have you know it is very difficult to impress her."

"Is that a challenge I hear?"

"Sure, Jinx. Why not?"

The girl grinned. "Let's begin right now then! I've never lost a single challenge and I refuse to start now. Get your noggin ready, Hat Lady. I'm about to stuff it full of more technological mumble-jumble than you can handle."

Caitlyn snorted and wondered if she would come to regret what she just signed herself up for. But she said nothing and instead, listened intently as the girl began to excitedly ramble off information.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **Okay, here we are, a new chapter after that long hiatus. Sorry about that, once again, and thank you all for the amazing support you have been giving me in my return. It really meant a lot to me over the past few weeks. And again, thank you for keeping up with my stories, and I will do my best to finish them successfully.**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, as well. It took me a minute because I had to catch back up myself, but hopefully the next won't be as time-consuming. And feel free to leave a review to tell me what you thought of it if you're so inclined. I appreciate them even if they're full of (constructive) criticism. It helps me grow after all!**

 **Thanks for reading!**


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